It
was around the middle of August 2015 when I began this project. I
had just recently began showing work at Wild Eye Artistry and had
already painted a few of the local businesses and historical homes in
Kalispell's East Side neighborhood. Rick, owner of Wild Eye
Artistry, thought it might be a good idea to paint a few street
scenes outside the gallery to engage people and direct them toward my
work at the gallery. After a few of these initial paintings were
complete, Rick suggested that I paint all of them and we could have a
show. I figured I'd need about two months to complete the project.
So with the deadline of October 8th,
I was off to the races. Little did I know that there would be over
50 paintings in the show and I would be putting the finishing touches
on the final painting the morning of the 8th.
Why
Kalispell you may ask. I find the downtown historical district to be
particularly charming. My wife and I moved here last November and
were immediately drawn to the tree lined side streets, old brick
facades, colorful awnings, decorative light posts, and vibrant
businesses. There is so much to take in which makes it the perfect
subject for a project such as this. With many cities not supporting
their downtowns, it is refreshing to see that the local community has
so much love for theirs. It is my hope that this project can draw
attention to downtown, and get people to bring more of their business
there. If we do not support places such as this, Kalsipell will wind
up looking like any town USA.
I
hope you enjoy the collection of paintings that I have completed.
They represent roughly well over 150 hours of work. That amounts to
one week solid of time spent on Main Street. In this manner, all but
two paintings were completed. I would set up my french easel and
paint in plein air and would typically complete a work in a single
session. 'Main Street Dusk' and 'Paul' were completed in the studio.
I
met so many wonderful people while painting and working on the
project. I was quite an experience which I will never forget.
Thank you to all that have made Kalispell such a place that needed to
be captured on canvas.
---Jeff
Troupe
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