Not only is Dr. Patty Rickard a wonderful part of the community and fantastic Veterinarian, she has great taste in art! She has been rotating pieces from local artists and clients of hers throughout her new office space. Two of mine are currently in the exam room. Dr. Patty has worked around the clock for us and is always available to help. I'm very thankful she's our veterinarian. If you're in the Billings area and looking for a large or small animal vet, Dr. Patty is the best option I can recommend!
2016 was my first year at the Yellowstone Art Museums Summerfair! What a weekend! I had a great time and met so many great people, I'm ready for next year.
My mother has told me the first year I attended was actually a shortly before my official arrival into the world, maybe that's how I got my initial love and appreciation for the event. She took my sister and I every year and I remember feeling this huge sense of admiration for all of the artists and crafters. I was also very intimidated, as a lot of artists know, confidence is a hard part of becoming who we are as creaters. I never really imagined one day I could be that artist sitting in a booth showing my artwork to the wonderful patrons of Summerfair.
Well I did it, I was an artist at Summerfair. I'm still intimidated, but I've found a new sense of pride in myself and my work and feel those feelings starting to dissipate. They'll pop up again at the next show or event as they always do but I'm finding strength in them instead of letting them take over. Everyone starts somewhere and I'm thankful for my journey so far and am looking forward to seeing how things go from here on out!
I love cheap goodwill art! I'm also thankful for this artist Rivera, whomever he or she may be and this painting they did. I hope that if a piece of my art finds itself in a thrift store someone picks it up, repurposes it and enjoys it in it's new form. I appreciate the work this artist put into this painting and love "collaborating". I do this sort of thing in between commissioned work and my original work. It's like a little break or breather lets my mind settle and start fresh while other work is drying or when I'm stuck on some aspect of it. So ,Rivera, where ever you are, thank you for your painting, for the collaboration and new painting in my home and for helping a fellow artist's flow keep flowin!
This is it, this is my tack room, my closet and most importantly my studio. This is where I get away and create. This is also after a day of intense cleaning and re-arranging. Normally it looks like a bomb went off in there. I always find it interesting to see where artists work so I decided to share mine. I'll have to do an update of the everyday workings in there but it's nice to see it clean!
Re-working random paintings has become something I quite enjoy. We found this rather large piece behind the freezer in the basement and thought it was perfect for an alien invasion. Though it's not my normal work it sure is fun and made a great addition in our living room. Painting for fun has kept my spark going!
After losing my Grandfather in January my brain just sort of stopped for awhile. I've been able to get back to painting a little now and really just sticking to fun personal projects. I've really enjoyed the time to let my heart heal and no pressure to sell or create for anyone else. Lots of riding my horse and being outside, we've had the mildest winter so that's very doable currently. I've done a few projects for myself like a new pair of colorful wingtip shoes and a set of Old Hollywood Beauties for around my vanity. Also planning a wedding for May has been time and mind consuming. I'm feeling pretty rested and ready, ready to get that paint brush moving again and let it all flow!
Lucille Ball, Ava Gardner and Ginger Rogers. My three favorites!
I'm very fortunate to have met and known so many talented Montanans. I met woodworker Jeremy Smith this summer and started collaborating with him on framing some of my work. I've been blown away at some of the work he's made for me and love putting my money towards other local artisans! He does all kinds of beautiful pieces so make sure to visit his site from the link below to check out his work and find your own perfect made in Montana items!
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Growing up my Mother always took my sister and I to Summerfair, it was a welcome event. There were tons of artists and crafters, dancer and food! Projects for kids were a plenty while just wandering the sellers stalls was plenty of stimulation and full of enjoyment. Little did that young blonde girl know that her love of art would take her to her own booth at Summerfair one day. I'm beyond thrilled to be a part of this event, summer cannot come fast enough :)
Had a little piece of balsa wood that I wanted to use so decided to paint a tiny portrait of my horse, Patriot! Fun little piece :)
I was hired recently to design a logo for a phenomenal cupcake baker here in Billings, MT. It's always fun for me to work on projects along with my paintings. When I was approached to do this I knew we'd get along great and our ideas meshed perfectly bringing to life this adorable logo! I've been fortunate enough to personally test out this gal's work and was mighty impressed! She knows her way around the kitchen. If you're in Billings or ever make it this way get in touch with Hope the owner of Twisted Sister Cupcakes for some insanely decedent treats!
I was hired to do more window painting for a Froyo shop on the North end of town. They offer all you can eat soup and salad and no one knew about it, it's been up for a week and their already seen tons of new customers so that's great! It's a fun medium and my free handed window painting and lettering is only getting better!
New, re-arranged, and different pieces up at the Staggering Ox! After Heartstrings closed I move a lot of my work to the Staggering Ox. Some pieces I'm keeping at home to build for the next exhibition :) They have great food and neat local art up, make sure to check them out when you're in Billings!
The owners of Heartstrings Galley have decided to close their doors and the end of October 2015. I'm very sad to see them go and incredibly thankful for my time in their space. Through them I've sold three pieces in the four months I've been there. Because of them I was involved in two Art Walks and was able to exhibit my work downtown. My work will be hanging through the end of the month and is still for sale and framed!
Prong Horn 8x10" $200.00
Orchids 8x10" $200
Went on a big ol vacation and hand delivered a very special painting to some of my best friends in Florida! I've never been east and not very south either so it was a whole world of different! I got to experience so much and had a blast. Now that I'm home I'm catching up on commissions, riding my horse and enjoying the beginning of fall! Florida sure was great but I'm happy to be home and back in my dry climate. The Keys were far too humid for me!
My fiance and his friend are both guitar players and have recently been building guitars out of old air filters and oil cans making fantastic instruments. His friend asked me to pin stripe this filter for him before he put the strings on . I have to give mad props to Matt Stankins in Delaware, this is his design, though his is so much better done! I have so much more respect for the artists who pin stripe, I knew it wasn't going to be an easy job but my goodness what an incredible form of art! It was a fun project, I'm happy to have dipped my toe into an unknown world and I think I'll leave it to the pros from now on!
I was recently hired to paint a logo and some services onto the windows of a new local salon. They're signs weren't ready, but they wanted people to know what was going into that space before their grand opening! Besides some tape and a bit of cardboard I free handed the lettering and the logo. I'm pretty proud of myself as this is way out of my comfort zone, I have horrible handwriting and as most of my art shows, clean and neat isn't really my thing. The owner was very pleased as was I and now I can add another notch to my ability belt!
Rainbow: For Sale at Heartstrings Gallery in Billings, MT
State Fish aka Cutthroat:For Sale at Heartstrings in Billings Montana
Mini Cows Grazing: For Sale at Heartstrings Gallery in Billings, MT
Montana Twilight Zone: NFS I did this for my home and out of our great love for Rod Serling and the Twilight Zone!
One of the great places I show my art is Heartstings Gallery in Billings, MT. It's owned by an awesome local artist with a musician husband. They're heavily involved in the music and art scene here in town, frequently hosting events trying to boost the creative people in Billings. Billings has quarterly art walks involving roughly 30 galleries and businesses in the downtown area. It's a fun evening full of drinks, snacks and great art. Each Artwalk Heartstings tries to do a community project and show. This one is the Montana Love project. They ordered these blank Montana boards and sold them to anyone who wanted to decorate one, no rules just fun. Everyone is to bring them back where they'll be showcased during the Artwalk. If the creator wishes to sell them they can or take it home after the event to have as a fun new bit of decor! I chose to do the Bitterroot Mountains and a hay field, one of my favorite views right outside of town. I love spending time in Red Lodge and the Bitterroots and tried to share that with this little piece! To see it in person and maybe take it home with you make sure to hit up Heartstrings on August 7th for the Artwalk!
We recently moved to a wonderful little house with amazing big windows and lots of light for me to paint in. Got back from Denver a week ago after seeing Neil Young, The Avett Brothers, Band of Horses and Lake Street Dive (all amazing, so amazing there aren't really words) at Red Rocks and adding to our collection of Ikea furniture. My fiance already owned the surfer art and when we were putting together the bedroom it just kind of fit in there, but was too boring for us. He told me he wanted a sea creature and so a sea creature was created. I think it suites our life much more and adds such a fun element to the room!
Here's a before shot right after we got the room set up with the original surfer dude.
Whenever I get stuck, frustrated, stressed, overwhelmed, and otherwise unhappy, there is one thing that is guaranteed to make me feel better. My horse Patriot. I am beyond fortunate to even own a horse, such a magnificent animal, let alone the kind eye'd beauty I have. Two of the main communication tools have are their eyes and ears. Watching the flick of a horses ears can convey a whole plethora of information. The shape and how relaxed an eye are can show a horses mood and how they feel, you want a horse with a kind eye, once you've met one you know what that means. Their eyes and ears are such important tools in learning about horses and how they work so it was very important to me to do this piece. If you know my horse you know these pieces belong to him, his ears his and that eye that I've stared into so many times. My Mother In Law (to be) ended up buying these paintings and I'm so thankful I'll get to see them on a regular basis still, though I have the muse and I'd much rather take in the joy of the real thing! So here's the story of my Patriot and some pictures of from our lives from his birth to now!
The spring of my junior year in high school, a week before summer started, our mare Amy a 14hh grey Arabian/ Pinto gave birth to a perfect black and white stud colt on 5/31/2004 ,Memorial Day. We had checked every day and the morning of June 1st we saw the new addition to our herd.
My horse Dakota had recently gone lame with ringbone, (an arthritic, bony growth about the hoof that renders a horse pretty much useless) retired to a life of grooming and attention at a local boys home. I had been using my dad's horse Tuffy, a beautiful medicine hat Paint with blue eyes and a temper. I was determined to barrel race with Tuff and we did pretty well together, I was just as hard headed as he was and ended up a decent pair.
Amy kept the colt out and away for three days, on the third day with a bucket of grain she finally let him meet me. I walked out and squatted down as Amy was eating, he slowly came around her side and to meet this strange two legged creature. The second I touched his velvety coat I was enamored of him. This beautiful boy was to be mine. It took about a week to figure out what he would be named and after a lot of trials names he was named Poseidon's True Patriot.
A little bit of info on his coloring as it may be confusing! Patriots mother Amy is a registered Pinto. She was 1/2 Arabian and 1/2 Paint. (Paint is a breed and Pinto is the color, so every Paint is a Pinto but not every Pinto is a Paint!) She was born black and white and carries the gene that causes a horse to lose the pigment to their hair, very common in Arabians. She had lost all of her markings by the time she was three. Patriot started graying at 2yrs old and has since lost all of the stark markings. His skin is still patterned (you can see his spots when he's wet) and as he's aged there are black flecks in the areas that were black when he was young.
I was out there everyday, laying in the pasture next to him as he soaked up the summer sun, growing every day. He was a wild, fun and wicked smart. He could untie him self in record time and get out of most fences. He tested my patience and we learned so much from each other. I couldn't wait for him to get old enough to start under saddle I know we'd be an unstoppable pair as we were already inseparable. When he was two I had him branded with my Great Grandfather's Brand VK- and registered under my name. It was in every way official, he was mine forever.
The years have passed and we've had many adventures. He was wonderful to start under saddle, we had a few wrecks over the years but, he's been patient and kind. From the year I started him I took him to Kids N' Cowboys an annual event at the NILE Stock Show and Rodeo to give children with cancer horseback rides. It gives them a freedom and joy that makes fills my heart with such pride that I can take my horse and share him with them. I moved to Washington State to work on a dude ranch as a trail guide and wrangler, Patriot came with me. I moved to Wyoming and he came there too. We enjoy riding Western and English and improving our bond with each ride. He does what I ask and we ride very frequently, Eastern Montana is our playground and we're always exploring. He wasn't my first horse and he won't be my last horse but he is that one horse, that very special horse that I'll have as he ages, hopefully teaching my children to ride turning into a pasture statement until he can no longer stay on this earth. I have a shoe I pulled from his hoof tattooed around my elbow, the bit I started him in down my forearm and a the image of his likeness on my foot. Horses will always be a huge part of my life. Patriot, though, has been a milestone a life block that I've built and been shaped around and such a huge piece of my heart and who I am.
Kids N' Cowboys Patriot with World Champion Bronc Rider Dan Mortensen
in WA at Eagle Creek Ranch where I was a wrangler and trail guide. Patriot at 15.2 hands meeting Bob the Belgium.
Living in Wyoming, his color really fading now he was about 5yrs old here.
He lets me do whatever I want.
Pretty excited to have my tattoos match my saddle pad (also shows my bit tattoo!)
Last year at Kids N' Cowboys
from two weeks ago :)