Water — Soul of the Land exhibit features Missoula artist

Missoula artist Sheri Nagy explores the depths of water in her latest exhibit at Phillips Gallery with an opening reception April 3. 

Water — Soul of the Land was conceived from Nagy’s interest in bodies of water as a focal point in her landscape oil paintings.  

“Throughout my life, I have been inspired by the natural world and especially the mountains, forests and the waters that flow through them. Most of my paintings portray water in some way and I always seem to be more interested in finding a scene where it is important to the composition.  

“I truly feel that water is the soul of the land and the soul of most of my paintings,” Nagy said.  

For the past few years, Nagy said she’s drawn great satisfaction from plein-air painting (painting in the outdoors) to capture a landscape using palette knife techniques.  

"It allows the artist to capture the emotional and sensory dimensions of a landscape in a moment of time. In viewing an outdoor landscape, there are differences in the perception of the human eye to that of a photograph. Colors are different in a photo and are lacking in the shadows, and the depth of field is not well shown. All this is a learning experience to the artist,” Nagy said.  

For the last five years, Nagy has participated in the weeklong Plein Air Glacier event for the Glacier Museum in Kalispell. The event challenges her and provides an inspirational escape from her day-to-day painting routine. Painting outdoors takes preparation and planning for changing weather, temperature and terrain.  

"I always have a car full of all kinds of things,” she said.  “I do feel a little anxious until I find a promising place to start my first painting, looking for a compelling composition, and then I forget about it because I am in the zone. I further relax after I finish my first painting.”  

Depicting the experience for others outweighs any drawbacks for Nagy, who is inspired to share these private moments in time and connection to the land with viewers.  

The reception starts at 5 p.m. with an artist talk at 5:30 p.m., where Nagy will share her approach to palette knife painting en plein air and in the studio. The Water — Soul of the Land exhibit will remain on display through April 25. The gallery is located at the Kalispell Center Mall, 20 N. Main St.    

For more information, call 406-309-2335.