Art and Words

The Shields River is beautiful, especially at dawn.   The gold is for all to see.  

These Montana aspen were bending in the wind and sunset color. Price includes shipping and painting is framed.

Some nights are just special......no reason needed.  This will be available at the Miniatures By the Lake Art Show and Sale, Coeur d'Alene Galleries, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, September 25, 2021.  Reception begins at 5PM.

Another Montana sunset........gone in a flash.

The snow gave a lovely dimension to the hills and then, of course, there's that sky!

The light was just beginning to touch the mountains. It is a lovely time to be awake, watching the day begin.  

I do love autumn and the changes that come with the season.  It's a time to enjoy the rich colors and cool winds.  It is also a season to contemplate as life quiets down.  

Sold unframed.  A snowfilled, winter sky is lovely to experience.  It is a peaceful sight, calming the soul. 

I am energized by the mountain  wind soughing through trees and pushing the clouds along.  This road takes one to the top of the Bison Range, near Ignacio, Montana.  Price includes frame and FedEx Ground shipping.

The wind is strong, always singing the song of the season on this wonderful, northern Montana prairie.   The snow gets blown into the next state, I think.  This part of the country is wide open, almost intimidating.   It is grand to see the large ranchland, grazing cattle, old barns......the list goes on.   The folks who live in this quiet land have a much different lifestyle than mine.   Quiet is a good thing.  

This autumn morning was cold, overcast, with intermittent sunshine breaking through the clouds. The vistas were grand and the landscape beyond beautiful.

Montana springs are full of the most wonderfully moody days, with shrouded mountains and vistas disappearing into the clouds

Autumn gold, in its' ethereal beauty is here but "For a Moment."

There are wonderful things happening in Great Falls, Montana this week.   Check out all the art shows taking place concurrently throughout the town.  To name a few:  March In Montana; Russell Skull Society; Charles Russell Museum's Art In Action, First Strike Auction, Russell Live Auction; Montana Miniatures; Out West Art Show.  We invite you to visit us at Out West Art Show, Best Western Heritage Inn, Gallery Room 282, Great Falls,Montana.     

                        Susan Gutting                                                                           Abigail Gutting

The ride from Livingston to Gardner, Montana, is spectacular in any season, but autumn is especially so.  All that gold!!!!   This painting will be available at the Out West Art Show, during Western Art Week, in Great Falls, Montana, March 14-17, 2018.  Look for Room 282 at the Best Western Heritage Inn. 

We painted all day on this farm, bordering the Gallatin River.  It was a beautiful day, despite the wildfire smoke settling in.  At one point in the day two busloads of kids came with summer camp folks, to play in the river.  They were delightfully curious about the paintings our class was working on, even to the point of helping carry equipment, etc.  Charming boys, full of life.    Folks can go just about anywhere in Montana and find a river to jump into and play in.   We saw quite a few people come and go that day.  I can't blame them.  The area is beautiful........I got this sketched in during class and finished it just this week.  I put it away for a few weeks, to think about what I wanted to do with it.   

The Montana landscape is has unending beauty.  This painting was begun outdoors in a plein air workshop, taught by #RogerDaleBrown, and finished at home.  

Started in the field, finished at home.

Worked a little on three paintings I decided were not finished after all

. Old Road Morning Moon  22"x28"

 Fleeting  24"x36"

  Over and Beyond  24"x30"

  Cold Moon,  oil on linen/birch panel

 Where Seasons Meet, oil on linen/birch panel

The south end of Flathead Lake is lovely, with its islands and groves of pines and firs, here and there.   It is surrounded by golden hills and small mountains.  The sky is wide open and you can see forever.......as in most of Montana.    

My daughter and I were on an art trip in Montana.  We wandered around MacDonald Creek in Glacier National Park one morning, just before dawn.  It was quiet, peaceful and magical with the giant trees, singing waters and dawn color.

There are ranches and homes all through Montana, in out of the way places.  I always wonder what the folks who live in such places do with their time.  I can imagine the work is unending.....but also the sunrises and sunsets.......and the night skies......

I love the sights and smells of an autumn fire.  The wind and rain just added to the autumny feel.  Makes one a bit melancholy, thoughtful.

Peace, quiet, contentment, fleeting beauty.....these are a few of the things that are compelling in a sunset.  Never to be seen again in the same way......

  Getting close to a finish, I think.  Montana 

  has the most beautiful sunsets!

 24"x36" oil on linen....in progress.....I am taking it slow.

It was a wonderfully moody landscape.  One can just imagine the long, low whistle of a train in a foggy, mountain journey.

I  am excited to announce these paintings have been juried into the  Yellowstone Art Museum Auction, March, 2017.  

   Benediction      Mountain Stream  

                                                               10"x8" oil on linen/birch panel

                        I love to imagine what's down the old, dirt road.  Probably a ranch, with

                                folks who love their rural lifestyle. It's quiet, peaceful and lovely.  

It was a melancholy day.....we were travelers, going home.  I would have loved to drive down that old, dirt road......maybe it went to the river.  

Maybe there was a little cabin in the trees. Maybe an old farmhouse.  Maybe......................

Beautiful sky, beautiful scenery.  

Lowered clouds  in autumn make the loveliest of moods.  

The wind is strong, always singing the song of the season on this wonderful, northern Montana prairie.   The snow gets blown into the next state, I think.  This part of the country is wide open, almost intimidating.   It is grand to see the large ranchland, grazing cattle, old barns......the list goes on.   The folks who live in this quiet land have a much different lifestyle than mine.   Quiet is a good thing.  

The wind whips around the pinon pine, dried grasses and moves the clouds where it wills.  This is an immense, lonely land....the west.

Look at that sky!  The trees are bent by the wind, which never ends in this Montana landscape.  At least, the trees look like it never ends.   You can see the clouds from miles away....the storms before they hit.  It is an amazing land.   It is a lonely land.  It brings an ache to the soul, making one ponder...or maybe just be.      

The pioneers of old must have looked forward to the sunrises and sunsets.....those brief moments of great beauty in their very difficult lives.  Such beauty must have taken them to higher planes, a respite for a few seconds.....

Soft evening colors cover the land.......