Katie Hill, Dan Log first artists to exhibit paintings at monument’s Visitor Center – Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Grand Valley artist Dan Log uses a different technique for painting with oils; he holds his brush near the end instead of near the bristles. Look for Logs work to be displayed in September and October in the new exhibit space at Colorado National Monuments Visitor Center.

Katie Hill is the first local artist to exhibit paintings at the Colorado National Monuments Visitor Center. Eight of her oil paintings, some of which can be seen behind her, are displayed on a wall that until July was blank.

Independence Shadow by Katie Hill is part of the artists exhibit at the Colorado National Monuments Visitor Center.

This oil painting by Katie Hill is part of her exhibit at the Colorado National Monuments Visitor Center.

Kissing Couple by Katie Hill is part of the artists exhibit at the Colorado National Monuments Visitor Center.

Earlier this month, Dan Log was narrowing the number of oil paintings he plans to exhibit int the Colorado National Monuments Visitor Center.

Framed by his oil paintings, Grand Valley artist Dan Log sits in his painting chair at his studio. Some of Logs paintings will be displayed in the new exhibit space at Colorado National Monuments Visitor Center beginning Sept. 1.

Katie Hill is the first local artist whose work is being shown in new exhibit space in the Colorado National Monuments Visitor Center.

WATCH THE PAINT

The first Colorado National Monument Plein Air Event is set for Oct. 37.

More than 20 artists will paint at various spots in and around the monument beginning Oct. 3. Painting will wrap up at noon Oct. 6, when the events exhibition will be hung in the Visitor Center auditorium. John David Phillips (johndavidphillips.com), a local oil painter, will judge the show.

Times and dates to note:

From 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Oct. 4 there will be a paint out in the monuments Saddlerock Picnic Area parking lot.

The event exhibition will open with a preview night for association members and sponsors from 58 p.m. Oct. 6. Non-member tickets, which will include a Chinle Level association membership, cost $30.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 7.

Here are the names of participating artists: Jody Ahrens, Mark Akins, Timothy K. Brady, Maggie Cook, Mary Pat Ettinger, Diane Fechenbach, Amy Gibbs, Doug Graybeal, Debi Hedges, Katherine Heister, Nancy Hutcheson, Cedar Keshet, Nancy Lewis, Dan Log, Bob Martin, Jason McCullough, Susan McKelvy, David Mosier, Brooks Powell, Jane Sutton Seglem, Lily Shanabarger, Richard Szkutnik, Bob Tallarico and Lillian Wyant.

By Ann WrightThursday, August 24, 2017

Until July, the wall above the doors to the exhibits and auditorium inside Colorado National Monuments Visitor Center was blank.

John Lintott, local painter and art coordinator for the Colorado National Monument Association, sought permission for months from the National Park Service to put up a hanging system for a small art gallery to show local artwork.

Permission finally came in late May and now the wall is filled with vistas of the monument. Each two-month exhibit is required to be 50 percent or more related to the monument with the rest being a good representation of the featured artists work, Lintott said.

Katie Hills oil paintings have been on display since July 1. On Thursday, Aug. 31, her paintings will come down and Dan Logs paintings will go up on Friday, Sept. 1. Logs artwork can be viewed through the end of October, at which point another local artists work will fill the space.

All of the artwork if for sale, with a percentage going to the association and the majority to the artists.

The whole reason were doing this is, No. 1, it would be nice to generate sales for artists and have another place for them to exhibit, Lintott said.

Its also a way for the monuments many visitors to see original artwork of the monument and discover local artists, he said.

Since Hills paintings were hung, theres been a lot of people who look up and they love the fact that theres artwork up, Lintott said.

Here is a look at the first two artists to have work displayed at the Visitor Center, why they began painting and what inspires them.

I LOVE THE COLORS

When Lintott sent out a call for artists to show their work at the Visitor Center, Hill replied right away.

Im always looking for places to hang my art, she said.

He asked how soon she could be ready, and she replied, Anytime.

Im thrilled to be the first, said Hill, whose eight oil paintings have been on display at the Visitor Center since July 1.

Theres Independence Monument, Kissing Couple and Wedding Canyon with reds and oranges that contrast nicely with the blues and greens of two paintings of the Maroon Bells in the White River National Forest.

The Maroon Bells are lovely, but the canyons and monoliths of the monument are some of Hills favorite scenes to paint.

I love the colors and the dramatic landscape, the depth of the canyons, she said.

Hill, who paints mostly landscapes and occasionally animals or people, began painting in 2004 when she retired from a career as a computer analyst.

It wasnt that she couldnt paint before both her grandmothers were landscape artists and Hill painted a little in college. But life was busy, and art, along with golf and playing the flute, became a goal for retirement.

To get herself started, Hill asked members of her family to send her landscape photos to use as reference. Since she grew up in Alaska and much of her family is still there, she received a lot of photos of Alaska. And so she painted Alaska for quite a while, sending the finished pieces back to family members.

She also took some painting classes and has had both Lintott and Log as instructors.

Along with painting with oil on canvas, Hill uses acrylic to paint scenes on pieces of shale.

Ive sold 150 rocks, she said.

But selling any of her art is a bonus. Hill paints because she enjoys it, not as a 9-to-5 job.

Her easel at home is set up so that as she walks by she can do this or that with a painting until shes satisfied, then leave it and come back later.

I dont paint eight hours a day, she said.

She also prefers to use photo reference over painting plein air and likes that with landscape, things dont have to be exact.

For Hill, its about capturing the beauty of landscapes she loves and wants others to love as well.

Learn about Hill and her art at facebook.com/KatieHillArtist and katiehillart.blogspot.com.

I FOLLOW MY INTERESTS

Ive spent most of my life in this room, Log said, stepping into his garage, which is lined with paintings, oil paint and brushes, stacks of photos and more paintings. Its more studio than garage, by far.

I eat, drink and sleep art, Log said.

Hes been painting for 35 years and used to do mostly wildlife. Now he focuses more on landscape. Some of both were in the pieces Log had lined up in his studio earlier this month as he made his final selection of oil paintings to be displayed for two months at the Visitor Center beginning Friday, Sept. 1.

Among the possibilities was a coyote in its winter coat hes pretty healthy, Log said vibrant red Indian paintbrush, Independence Monument and snow over red rock.

The older he gets, the pickier he gets about his work, he said.

He describes his style as painterly realism, and prefers working from photo reference in his studio. He also does photography, so Im out there a lot getting reference material, he said.

While the landscapes featured in his paintings are a real places such as the monument, he might subtract a tree and add a rock if he likes, and I like the brush strokes to show, he said. I dont paint every hair, not these days.

Recently, he has been painting clouds to loosen up.

You can change a cloud and it still looks like a cloud, he said. But with an animal, say, a moose, you need to make sure its believable.

Log grew up with art in upstate New York, as his mother was a weekend painter. When Log started for himself, he was a river rat and painted waterfalls.

His paintings of ducks have made the cover of Ducks Unlimited magazine three times and the Long Island Duck Stamp in 1982.

When he moved west his parents retired here and his sister also moved west, so Log and his family followed it completely changed my subject matter.

The light is brighter, the color palette is different and the vistas are deeper.

He paints nearly every day and I follow my interests, he said.

Log plans to participate in the first Colorado National Monument Plein Air Event set for Oct. 37. While not what he prefers, painting plein air is something I need to do more, he said.

He has been told that it provides a connection between eye and scenery that cant be beat. And besides, I like a challenge, Log said.

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Katie Hill, Dan Log first artists to exhibit paintings at monument's Visitor Center - Grand Junction Daily Sentinel