UNITED EXPRESS
Boise Idaho's : : :
Darlene Laursen
Gleefully Capturing Idaho Life
Between A Rock and A Hard Place,
15"w x 12"h
Red Fish Co Building,
14 1/2"w x 11"h
Darlene Laursen’s Family Fishing Day brings summertime in McCall, Idaho to this magazine’s cover. It’s a place Laursen knows well. For the past 14 years she and her husband Gary have spent weekends shuttling between their Boise home and the laid-back mountain community.
“McCall is just the best,” she said. “There are so many fun places to enjoy. There’s always something to do. We love to snowmobile and boat.” A self-confessed people-person, Laursen especially enjoys entertaining others—including fellow artists. “They come up and paint with me or we ride around on photo excursions. Cascade and Payette lakes are both beautiful bodies of water. The back side of Payette, where it runs into the river, is special. We often encounter canoers there. All around the area there are so many wonderful campsites and places to hike and cross-country ski.”
Family Fishing Day was created from a photograph Laursen took while enjoying an annual community event of the same name. “It was such fun. The town provided poles, bait, even a hotdog lunch. It was on Scout Pond; actually the name is Roland Pond, now, but most people who’ve lived there any length of time still call it Scout Pond. I just loved the way the light hit the child and the water. I really wanted to paint the scene.” She terms the result, “a happy surprise,” and seems positively gleeful at the opportunity to “paint these beautiful places that God created.
“I really didn’t do anything with art while I was growing up. Didn’t take college classes, but I was interested in watercolors for a long time before I ever took a lesson.” For more than 20 years she directed her creative juices toward producing intricate quilts. “Quilting led to machine embroidery. I began teaching that and got more and more into it. One thing led to another. I wanted to be able to paint my own designs so I could digitize them [for that craft.]
“Now, I see so many things I want to paint.” She is quick to credit “wonderful teachers” such as Boise State art professor emeritus Gaye Hoopes and nationally acclaimed illustrator Will Nelson with helping develop the ability. She encourages anyone with an interest in art to pick up a brush. “I never thought I could succeed at it. Well, you never know until you try. With the right teachers, anything is possible.”
For more information about the artist and her work, visit her website www.DarleneLaursen.com.
UNITED EXPRESS
missoula, montana's : : :
lane Timothy
unspoiled by success
Chasing a Dream,
36" x 48" oil on canvas
The Long Goodbye,
48" x 60" oil on canvas
By any assessment, Lane Timothy’s career is going places. Top-drawer galleries in Santa Fe, Scottsdale and Palm Desert represent him. London-based Bentley Publishing Group distributes his giclee prints in 30 countries. American Art Collector magazine recently devoted a cover story to his figurative pieces. Before he completes an oil painting, it is typically sold. At age 33, Timothy’s biggest challenge is keeping up with demand.
Timothy’s natural ability has attracted attention for much of his life. He was just a junior in high school when he nabbed top honors at the prestigious C.M. Russell Auction of Western Art. That was back when horses and cowboys—standard Western fare—dominated his work. After a year at the University of Montana before his art took him to Salt Lake City where he beat out college grads for a graphics position at an ad agency.
“It was a really good job, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do,” Timothy said. Instead, he went to Europe, studied the techniques of Old Masters and came home to Missoula to paint. “Before that trip I had worked in acrylic, watercolor, pastels, chalk, but not oil. I’m completely self-taught in that media.” Now, all he does is oil on canvas.
Life experiences continue to influence an evolution of styles. Since his marriage more than two years ago, Timothy has found a niche in figurative painting. His wife, Christy, is his favorite model. Subject matter typically reflects a back-story. Viewers relate to the work at many levels. “It’s been a lot of fun, researching the different eras. It’s definitely been my most popular work.”
Despite success, Timothy remains a down-to-earth Missoula boy at heart. Unflinchingly loyal to his hometown, his art is a mainstay at local charity auctions, supporting everything from the Children’s Hospital to the Boy Scouts to Camp Mak-A-Dream for kids with cancer. The day we chatted he was transporting a load of artwork from Salt Lake City where he now lives to a major show in Scottsdale. He also carried a violin. “I’m painting it to be auctioned off for the Missoula Symphony,” he explained. “I’ll be doing that during the show. I still try to help out at home however I can.”