Jeff Nobles of Polson always has wanted a full-time career as an artist, and it just so happens Walmart may bring him one step closer to his dream.

Nobles, who works in the automotive section of the Polson Walmart store, is one of 15 winners in an art contest sponsored by the corporation to help celebrate Walmart’s 50th anniversary. The contest asked Walmart associates to incorporate into their artwork the store’s three-pronged pledge of respecting the individual, providing service to customers and striving for excellence.

Once Nobles’ co-workers nudged him into entering the contest, he quickly figured out the perfect scenario for his watercolor. He portrayed a fellow Walmart associate, Dewell Peek, who works in the sporting goods department. 

In the painting, Peek is helping a young girl buy a fishing pole. With the help of Photoshop, Nobles created a magazine cover effect reminiscent of the Norman Rockwell paintings that graced the covers of the Saturday Evening Post.

Noble will be flown to Walmart’s corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. next week where he will be recognized for his artistic effort.

Nobles, 56, recognized his artistic talent at an early age but kept it hidden because he also was a boxer — and “boxers didn’t do art.”

He has struggled in life from the get-go.

“I was born club-footed and was never supposed to walk or play sports,” he said. “I started walking when I was about 5, because just about the time someone says I can’t do something is when I start doing it.”

He recalls a constant flow of creativity that translated into impromptu sketches any time and anywhere.

“People would look over the pews [in church] to see what I’d drawn,” he recalled.

His father, Gene Nobles, took a job as fire chief of Polson and moved the family to Montana from California in 1967.

“I started going on [ambulance] runs with him when I was 13 and I was hooked on the adrenaline rush,” Nobles said.

He went on to work in law enforcement in California, where he was shot three times during his time on the job (and lost a finger in one shooting), and later was part of a stunt group based in Cody, Wyo. Along the way he became an avid biker and earned the nickname “Badger” during his years as a body guard.

Nobles chipped away at his art career, earning degrees in fine art and anthropology from Northwest College in Powell, Wyo. He planned to get his master’s degree and teach art, but 13 years ago his wife died of cancer and he was left with four children to raise.

“So the education stopped,” he said. “The next 12 to 14 years I was Mr. Mom.

“I was just getting active with the art scene when my wife got sick,” he said. After her death, “I was able to make enough with my artwork and survivor benefits. It was more important to be at home with the kids.”

Nobles eventually remarried and moved to Wisconsin, where he worked as a high-end cabinet maker until the recession hit in 2008. He was laid off and decided to move back to Polson where he had been well connected in the community.

“I sold my Harley to move back a year ago and got on at Walmart,” he said.

It’s difficult to make a living as a full-time artist in Montana, Nobles lamented. He has displayed his work at the well-known Jay Contway and Friends Art Show in Great Falls, an event that showcases professional artists.

Currently his work is exhibited at The Cottage, a gallery on Main Street in Polson.

Nobles has toyed with the idea of asking Walmart to transfer him to Arizona to get closer to the Western art world.

“Here at an art show if you get a crowd of 3,000 you’re lucky,” he said. “Down there you get 40,000 to 50,000 [spectators] and a lot of buyers.”

Nobles’ paintings and sculptures most often have a Western theme, with scenes hearkening back to the turn of the 20th century.

But he’s also forward-thinking and has an idea for a line of customized biker decor for the homes of avid bikers.

“The ideas keep getting bigger,” he said. “But as a ‘starving artist,’ there’s no money to follow them up.

“The nice thing about art is that artists never retire,” he added, explaining the compelling nature of wanting to paint and sculpt. “You do it because you have no choice.”

Nobles’ artwork can be seen online on his Facebook page; go to Sidecar Gallery The Artwork of Jeff Nobles.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.