Quick draw finish art show new feature at Festival's Grand Finale

Attendees at the Festival at Sandpoint’s Grand Finale concert Sunday, Aug. 11, will enjoy a new pre-concert activity.

In addition to the popular, annual Taste of the Stars Wine Tasting, the Festival will host the inaugural “Quick Draw Finish Art Show” where five nationally known western artists will be painting works in progress to be finished onsite and auctioned off via silent bidding prior to the symphony concert. Each piece will have a minimum bid, with 50% of the proceeds from the artwork donated by the artists to the non-profit Festival at Sandpoint to support its symphonic and educational programs. The wine tasting and art event both start when the gates open at 4:30 p.m. and conclude at 6:45 p.m., prior to the concert.

The event is presented and curated by Buddy Le of Coeur d’Alene Galleries, featuring five of the area’s best artists: Robert Krogle, Terry Lee, Kyle Paliotto, Tobias Sauer and Jeff Weir.

Robert Krogle is an impressionist oil painter living in Coeur d’Alene. A graduate of the Chouinard Art Institute of Los Angeles, he has been a commercial illustrator for 31 years. He was the 2008 Clymer Museum Award Winner and a commissioned artist for the Buffalo Bill Historical Museum. Invitational Exhibits include: Mountain Oyster Club in Cody, Wyoming, Oil Painters of America, and Richard Schmid Fine Art Auction. Best of Show Awards include: Spokane Western Art Show, St Paul Rodeo Art Show, Ellensburg National Art Show and Fred Oldfield Art Show.

Terry Lee has created a truly unique style that sets his work apart. Viewers and collectors of Terry’s work enjoy oil paintings that present contemporary realism with an impressionistic edge and have been termed, “a breath of fresh air in a world of sameness.” He was named Artist of the Year at the 2009 Dallas Safari Club, and garnered the award of “Best of Show 3D” at the 2009 Nature Works Show in Tulsa, Okla-homa. Most recently named Artist of the Year at the Safari Club International in Reno, Nev., in 2019.

Oil painter Kyle Paliotto lives in Hayden, Idaho, where he gathers imagery from the beautiful rustic landscape of his local surroundings in North Idaho.

He searches out rural settings which display a time gone by when harmony between land and man existed.

His style is one that takes from impressionism without disregarding the discipline of representational art up to the early 1900s.

His successes include: Signature Status with the American Impressionist Society, Juried into multiple Oil Painters of America National and regional shows, Winning honorable mention in the 13th annual American Impressionist Society National Show (2012) and also in the Portrait Society of America’s Members Only competition (2010), Best of Show at the CM Russell Auction in Great Falls, Montana (2010) and winning third place in American Impressionist Society’s 11th Annual National Show (2010). Kyle has been written about in Southwest Art Magazine’s “Artists to Watch” (2008) (2013)(2017) and a feature article in Western Art Collector Magazine (2009) (2010) and (2013).

Tobias Sauer’s drive to create paintings worthy of the beauty of nature has caused him to look more closely at objects.

Trees, skies, antlers, grass, fur, and eyelashes must be studied and reflected upon in order to capture the right shade of purple or green in its light or shadow. This contemplation of his subjects and their elements has resulted in a deeper appreciation of the beauty of life and the people in it.

As a child, Toby would run out of his house first thing each morning and then spend as much time as possible in the outdoors of a small town in the exact center of Montana with his father. His mother taught him about creativity, color, form, and artistic expression. He has sought out expert artists with whom he has studied to help him hone his craft, and delights in passing that knowledge on to his students.

Meanwhile, he has never strayed from his love of the outdoors, and celebrates nature by drawing and painting bison, elk, moose, and any other animal that dares show its face. Spending his whole life residing near the route taken by the Lewis & Clark Expedi-tion has also instilled in him an appreciation for the Ameri-can West, and he enjoys creating art that celebrates the lives of the people of that period.

Jeff Weir is a contemporary western oil painter bringing life to his experiences living and working in North Idaho.

Coming from a background working in the woods and making a living with a chainsaw, he pulls from memories, daydreams and imagination to show how beautiful life can be in the mountains.

Jeff uses oil paint in thin transparent layers alongside thick opaque brushstrokes full of color to make work with a strong presence. Jeff’s work has been shown in the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, multiple galleries, and group shows across the Inland Northwest.

He has been awarded best local artist 2019 in the North Idaho Business journal. Jeff makes work in his studio in downtown Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Festival Board president Grant Nixon, an art enthusiast and artist himself, spearheaded the new event: “It’s a value add for the visual arts people with five nationally known western artists from the area doing a quick draw with proceeds shared with the Festival!”

Tickets to the Festival’s Grand Finale concert Sunday with the Spokane Symphony and Sybarite5 conducted by Gary Sheldon are $39.95 and include the wine tasting (for 21 and over) and the art show. Tickets are available at festivalatsandpoint.com or by calling 208-265-4554.