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Spotlight: Steve Oiestad
Published
6 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersComing full circle
Artist to lead pastel workshop in Big Sky Aug. 24-26
By Sarah Gianelli EBS Senior Editor
BIG SKY – Great Falls artist Steve Oiestad sold his first painting in 6th grade. It was of a caribou, he remembers, and he made it in the same medium he still works in today—pastels.
“I like the color better because you’re working with pure pigment,” Oiestad said, explaining that if you extracted the oil out of oil paint, pure pigment is what would remain. He also prefers the relatively obscure medium because pastels are light—convenient for painting in plein air—dry fast, and don’t fade.
“I like the brilliance of the color and it doesn’t change … what you put down is basically there forever,” he said.
But many years would pass before that young boy sketching animals on his family’s ranch near Big Timber, Montana, would dedicate himself full time to his passion for art-making, as he does today.
Oiestad pursued a degree in art at Montana State University but soon switched majors to agricultural education.
“During that period everything was pretty much modern art with a ‘do your own thing’ [approach], and I didn’t feel like I was learning anything,” he said.
Oiestad is glad he took the path he did. Working in the agricultural industry allowed him to live in places like Poland and Africa.
But in the early 2000s when he was relocated to Great Falls for work, Oiestad began to turn his focus back to art, and began to cultivate relationships within the healthy community of Western artists in the region. He took a part-time job preparing exhibits at the C.M. Russell Museum, and rented a downtown studio where his neighbors were other working artists. Many of them remain close friends and are fellow members of the Montana Painters Alliance, a group that gets together twice a year for “paint outs” in different parts of the state.
“It’s really unique,” he said about the tight-knit community. “I’ve never been anywhere else where all the artists basically get along, and there’s no competitive thing [among us].” Every Thursday the group meets for an artist lunch, and every year they participate in the big C.M. Russell Exhibition and Sale during Western Art Week.
Today, Oiestad works out of a home studio on a ranch in Fort Shaw, Montana, 25 miles outside of Great Falls. Set along the Sun River, it overlooks wheat fields, cows, and a duck preserve.
It is almost as if the artist has come full circle—painting the wildlife, Western landscapes and cowboy scenes that were part of his day-to-day life as a child.
“I know about [ranch] life and have a lot of respect for what they do,” said the artist. “They’re tough people but they’re also really, really, good people. I want to capture that.”
He believes people are drawn to iconic scenes of the West because they have a calming effect, and represent a dying lifestyle as small ranch owners are being displaced by corporate agricultural operations.
“It’s a way of life that’s kind of fading. There’s a real nostalgia to the cowboy life, but for the cowboy it’s a pretty tough life. It’s kind of like the art business,” he said, lightening the mood. “You never know where the next paycheck is going to come from.”
Steven Oiestad will lead a pastel painting work shop in Big Sky over the weekend of Aug. 24-26. Visit bigskyarts.org for more information.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
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My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy
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My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy that tells the story of Toby and Melinda, two lonely people whose lives are forever changed the night they encounter a starving coyote at their apartment building. Over time they grow to expect him, leaving ritual offerings to entice the coyote every night. Toby and Melinda forge a connection over this visitor and share curiosity and concern about his presence in the city. The coyote expands their world–until, one night, their world is shattered. Their lives are pushed suddenly into uncharted territory, sending them on a surreal odyssey that changes their city–and the world–forever.
Directed by LX Miller. Starring Max Schneider and Denise Hergett
Verge Theater is continuing their mission to provide accessible theater to our community. Tickets for My Barking Dog are Pay What You Wish with a suggested price of $35. Audience members are offered the opportunity to select the price point that is comfortable for them when purchasing tickets.
My Barking Dog runs March 15-17, 22-24, 28-30
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays begin at 7:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees offered at 3:00 p.m.
Suitable for ages 16 . No animals are harmed in the staging of this production.
Tickets are available online at www.vergetheater.com
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15 (Friday) 7:00 pm - 30 (Saturday) 8:30 pm
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Area parents are encouraged to bring their young children to Symphony Storytime with a Bassoon which will be presented at the Bozeman Public Library’s Community Room during
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Area parents are encouraged to bring their young children to Symphony Storytime with a Bassoon which will be presented at the Bozeman Public Library’s Community Room during their regular Toddler and Preschool Storytime on Wednesday, March 20, at 10:15 a.m. The free program, presented by the Bozeman Symphony is especially for children ages 3 to 5. Children will be able to listen to Montana Shakespeare in the Parks actor Emma Rather, who will be joined by Bozeman Symphony Bassoonist Sam Macken. The goal of the program is to encourage a love of music, literacy, and discovery. Additional programs are scheduled at the Library on April 10 and June 12. For more information, visit www.bozemansymphony.org or call 406-585-9774.
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(Wednesday) 10:15 am - 10:45 am
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Bozeman Public Library
626 E. Main St, Bozeman, MT