Every year in March, Great Falls, Montana, comes alive for Western Art Week. One event that has grown in popularity, is the Montana Miniatures silent auction organized by Bitterroot Frames; a framing, publishing and fine art gallery nestled in Victor, Montana. The event will occur alongside the Bitterroot Frames’ sister show, Montana Masters.
From March 17 to March 20, 150 juried pieces will be up for grabs and on display at the Heritage Inn Hotel. While there are still a lot of unknowns for art shows and events, Montana Miniatures is holding strong for their current March dates.
Randy Van Beek, Blackfeet Ceremony at Square Butte, oil, 9 x 12”
The event is now in its fifth year, with many successful sales and earned attention. “Right off the bat, it was a hit and we’ve historically sold at least 65 percent of miniatures in past years,” says Zach Cheetham, event organizer and Bitterroot Frames co-owner. “It’s a big draw.”
With sizing capped around 12 by 16 inches, viewers can expect miniature pieces such as Fox in Flight by Julie Jeppsen. “I love having my work shown in a well-planned, professionally run show, surrounded by great artists,” says Jeppson. “I have the opportunity to live in a beautiful place, that’s surrounded by the beauties of nature…I love seeing familiar animals and painting them in a new way as though you are seeing them for the first time.”
Julie Jeppsen, Fox in Flight, oil, 11 x 14”
Michelle Kondos will be featuring her piece 500 Miles from Home. “What could be more dramatic than a train pulling into a dark station in the middle of nowhere in the wee hours? Says Kondos. “The challenge I set for myself in this painting was to somehow get that ‘homeward bound’ feeling down on canvas.”
Michelle Kondos, 500 Miles from Home, 9 x 12”
This piece leans more toward color extremes, with striking and dramatic orange-blue color opposition, giving it a different quality than other works by Kondos.
Also displayed will be an piece by Randy Van Beek, titled Blackfeet Ceremony at Square Butte, depicting the Blackfeet tribe near Square Butte, Montana. “I love American history,” Van Beek says. “Native American history fascinates me because it’s so recent—they were living a primitive life not so long ago. They not only survived, they thrived.”
Val Kagounkin, Hunter Crossing the Creek, oil, 9 x 12”
Van Beek is first and foremost a landscape painter, and he enjoys subjects found in every region of the American West. He’s been painting Square Butte lately “because it was a challenge,” he says. “I typically paint mountains and plains but I continually challenge myself with new subjects. After the landscape, I add the people, the Native American’s who inhabit the landscape, but they are not often in the foreground.”
For updated information on happenings and any Covid-19 restrictions, please visit the Bitterroot Frames website, or call for details.
Montana Miniatures
March 17-20, 2021
Heritage Inn
1700 Fox Farm Road,
Great Falls, MT 59404
(406) 363-7693,
www.bitterrootframes.com
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