Page 24 - Flathead Beacon // 10.22.14

24 | OCTOBER 22, 2014 COVER
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Whitefish artist Rocky Hoerner. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
lifted, he’s been able to take stock of his life. He didn’t realize how much ener- gy he still expended on Aceto, and how much space it took up in his mind.
Now, his art is flowing, like an un- dammed river. It’s worth focusing on again, he said, and he’s started dreaming of his own gallery once more.
“I feel like I just came alive again,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of purpose left.”
LaValley, his friend of 50 years, said
he’s seen a positive change in Hoerner since the news of Aceto’s passing.
“He’s totally found his center. He’s just really gotten back into his artwork. He wishes he could pursue it full time,” LaValley said. “I’m just really proud of what he’s been doing.”
George Hoerner also said he’s seen his son blossom, and find a stability in life he didn’t have before.
“I think right now he’s probably
feeling better about things,” George Hoerner said. “He’s a pretty good artist, you know.”
Hoerner said he realized he and his daughter have drifted apart, that he wasn’t the father he should have been during that time. Now, he has made it his priority to work on their relationship.
He is also trying to get his name out to the public again, now that he doesn’t have to worry about being caught un-
aware by people with deadly intentions. He’s settled into a house in Whitefish, and has started pulling out his art and arranging it in his garage.
In short, Hoerner has stopped mov- ing, and started living again.
“I couldn’t be me to anyone during that time,” he said of the last 14 years. “It feels so good now; I want to get my name out there.”
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