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Jul 16 2008

Montana Artists Refuge

Posted by: Julie Chapman in Reports

Sandra Blair, a wildlife watercolor artist and a prior participant in my workshops, recently spent a month as an artist-in-residence at the Montana Artists Refuge in Basin, Montana. I asked her to share her experiences with all of you.

The residency experience at the Montana Artists Refuge was absolutely incredible. I wondered if I would be able to focus on painting on a daily basis for a full month…would I get bored?…would I be lazy? But I found it quite easy to just paint and paint and paint! I was housed in an efficiency apartment so my work was setup on a long folding table right in the apartment. Great big windows with north light! (My first experience with north light and it is addictive!) I’d get up, have breakfast then paint…take a lunch break then paint…eat dinner then paint…read a little then go to sleep. I stayed focused and in the zone so I accomplished so much more than when I can only paint two days a week. I know this will make you crazy just thinking about it (I can just see you rolling your eyes), but I finished one painting (14 x 22”) in three weeks and have the background completed on another. That’s fast for me!…

 

 

Basin Montana is definitely NOT a hot-spot! Tiny, tiny, tiny!!!! Town is about 5 blocks long, no stores, businesses or gas stations…just a bar (of course) with an attached café and a pizza joint. Certainly nothing to distract an artist from their work!

Sandra’s work is very detailed and time-intensive, so this was a wonderful chance for her to do nothing but art for a month.

You can see more of her work at her website. To learn more about the Montana Artists Refuge, visit their website: www.montanaartistsrefuge.org.

I’ll share some of my own A-i-R experiences in a post in the near future (at least, if anyone’s interested).

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21 Responses to “Montana Artists Refuge”
  1. Sandi says:
    July 17th, 2008 at 8:00 am

    I am interested! Please do share.

  2. Susan Fox says:
    July 17th, 2008 at 2:34 pm

    Ditto.

  3. Don Barnes says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 2:26 pm

    I’d love to hear about it. Wow. Love your work, but I’m wa-a-a-yyy too impatient to make that work.

  4. Julie Chapman says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 3:01 pm

    Sandra sent me some more details that I thought might be of interest to all:

    I applied at the Montana Artists Refuge last summer, sent in an application and letter outlining why the residency would help me as an artist and images of my work. They got back to me a few months later and much to my surprise, I was accepted! They seem to be having no trouble filling the 4 spots per month that they offer. Montana Artists Refuge is really an Artist’s Colony rather than a true residency program. Unlike fully-funded residencies, I did have to pay for my apartment. Because they are non-profit, they cannot charge a residency fee so they make up some of their costs by having artists pay a reduced rent. I had a full kitchen so I did all of my cooking. There are many colonies/residencies out there that I am researching…I’m hoping to apply to some fully-funded ones next time. They will house you, feed you and some will even pay a small stipend! This website, http://www.washingtonart.com/beltway/resid1.html, lists artist colonies and residencies all over the country, what the requirements are and the costs, if any. Good info for any artists wanting to get away to paint.

  5. Sandra Blair says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 3:38 pm

    Thanks Julie for posting this info! For any of you out there like me who still have to work a “day job,” this is an incredible experience to get away from it all and just paint. I hope someday to be as lucky as Julie and others of you who are able to paint full time! Maybe I should take out a classified…”starving (but talented) wildlife artist searching for a rich, non-demanding art patron willing to foot the bills.” What do you think Julie????

  6. Joe says:
    July 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 am

    Check out the Banff Centre. They have a big art residency program. Surrounded by Rungius backgrounds too.

  7. Julie Chapman says:
    July 23rd, 2008 at 11:54 am

    > starving (but talented) wildlife artist searching for a rich, non-demanding art patron willing to foot the bills.”
    > What do you think Julie????

    I think we’d ALL like one of those!!

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