Page 41 - Flathead Beacon // 6.4.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT JUNE 4, 2014 | 41

ating and curating, and they are a dif- "We were pretty fortunate," Lewis
ferent type of painting than he's done said.
before.
He also started a publishing com-
"When I irst started to exhibit, I pany with his sons, Tehabi Publishing,
was exhibiting with a lot of abstract that focused on cofee table books.
stuf," Lewis said. "When I came to It was a fun pursuit, he said, but
Montana, it tightened up a lot."
when it came to retirement, he felt the
His current exhibit is still im- pull to get back to the canvas.

pressionistic, but the characters and "I had some wonderful painting
scenes are easily identiiable as ranch teachers (at Arizona State) and that
life and landscapes. Much of the in- built an enduring interest in paint-
spiration came from Lewis' life, his ing," Lewis said.
somewhat nomadic childhood spent in Since rediscovering his love for the
various communities across the west, craft, Lewis has tried to focus more on
punctuated with life on the ranch.
painting in the moment, with a tech-

Visiting Montana was like coming nique called alla prima, meaning ap-
home after spending decades in south- plying wet oil paint to other layers of
ern California and the Southwest.
wet paint. It requires quick and deci-
"We came up here and I saw the
sive work, he said, because it has to be
trees and the mountains and the wa-
completed before the previous layers "Icebox Canyon Overlook" by Thomas Lewis. COURTESY IMAGE
ter and it reminded me of the ranch in
dry.
Colorado that my dad had and that just yanked me back to something that I re- Lewis also spent some time teaching painting workshops, and having to ar-
ally loved," Lewis said.
ticulate his methodology enhanced his own painting because he understood it

Part of his recent work includes 4-foot tall paintings of cowboys, inspired by more concretely.
the men he met as a child.
"That translated into my painting because suddenly I was applying (my
"These are the guys who would show up in the ranch in the spring and they'd methodology) and applying it in a planned way; not tight, but a planned way,"
be gone in the fall and I'd never see them again," he said.
he said.
Other pieces, such as his painting of bison spanning 12-feet in length, were The result is his latest work, and a new chapter in his very creative life.
inspired by the time he spent in Northwest Montana.
"I grew up on a cattle ranch and I had a real interest in the romance of the
Lewis said his "Pushing Impressionism" pieces are the result of his love of western life," Lewis said. "I'm trying to translate all of this into this diferent

painting that laid dormant for decades while he pursued a successful career in voice."
graphic design.
For more information on Thomas G. Lewis, visit www.thomasglewis.com.
He went to college at Arizona State University for commercial art, and from "Pushing Impressionism" will be on display at Collage Gallery in Bigfork until
there opened a graphic design studio in San Diego that evolved into a big busi- June 24.
ness, including creating the logo for Jack in the Box restaurants.
[email protected]

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