SANDPOINT — Local watercolorist Judy Pederson has been selected to create the original artwork for the 2018 Festival at Sandpoint fine art poster.

Best known for the special passion she has to give life to great old buildings, homesteads and beautiful mountain scenery, Pederson was chosen by a committee of her artistic peers, made up of the Festival’s past poster artists. Her selection was announced at the Festival’s WineFest benefit event Friday at the Bonner County Fairgrounds.

“It’s such an honor to be chosen by previous Festival artists to paint the 2018 poster,” said Pederson. “The Festival’s popularity is amazing and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Growing up in southern Idaho, Pederson developed a love for taking photos while exploring vacant mining towns and ranches in her 1953 Chevy. When she moved to Bonner County in 1969, she continued to photograph the old barns and mountain scenes when she and husband, Bernie, were traveling and camping. Trips to Alaska and the back roads of Montana kept her camera busy. She began to admire watercolors in various shows in Sandpoint and Spokane.

However, having no exposure to art instruction, she felt painting watercolors was beyond her abilities. Besides, she had a family of a husband, two boys, two gardens and a zoo of animals at their farm in Cocolalla.

Then Judy met Katherine Haynes, a watercolorist from Bonners Ferry. Katherine became a special friend and art instructor. Al Knoke, an artist from California, moved to Cocolalla and also gave her lessons, as did Zulton Szabo, a world-traveling instructor who held October classes in Bonners Ferry. So her confidence in creating watercolor paintings of buildings and landscapes was in place.

Pederson first painted historic buildings as honest, and perhaps last, recordings of their existence. Then she found a demand for prints and also commissions. Art Walk, POAC shows, The Ritzville Western Art Show, and National Draft Horse Shows all became venues for her work. Now Judy and her husband reside in Sandpoint where she has a studio in their home. She also sells her work through Northwest Handmade. She still enjoys traveling to talk with owners about the history of their old barns and ranches. Her prints of several Sandpoint buildings, especially of the Panhandle Mill and Sandpoint Depot, have been very popular.

The Festival will unveil Pederson’s original artwork at the much anticipated poster unveiling event on Thursday, July 12 at Dish at Dover Bay to kick off the Festival’s 36th annual summer concert series set for August 2-12, 2018 at Memorial Field in Sandpoint. Festival organizers are thrilled with the selection: “I know that Judy’s artwork will celebrate the natural Sandpoint setting that makes our Festival unique and special,” said Festival Executive Director Dyno Wahl.

The artwork will be displayed on posters and other Festival memorabilia during the season, and the original will be auctioned off to benefit The Festival at Sandpoint, a non-profit arts organization. For Festival info and tickets, visit www.FestivalatSandpoint.com or call 208-265-4554.