"Grace Within" (detail) 24 x 36 Oil by Rett Ashby
"The Language of Fall" 16 x 16 Pastel by Willo Balfrey
"The Way Home" 12 x 12 Oil by Melanie Thompson
RETT ASHBY, was born in 1961 in the small town of Rigby, Idaho, and currently lives with his wife in Utah. Ashby learned the basics of fine art from his mother, Sandra Ashby, a professional watercolorist, whose paintings he used to copy. He continued his art education at Weber and Utah State Universities. Rett painted under the artists: Harrison Groutage, Glen Edwards and Le Conte Stewart. He is influenced by textures, surroundings, and the hard and soft lines found in landscapes. “When it comes to painting, it is about the process for me. Releasing the paint to do as it will . . .reacting, rather than controlling. I have always preferred the landscape because there is so much to respond to. I hope the viewer can place one’s self in the painting and travel about in it.” Ashby is represented by galleries In: Scottsdale, AZ; Saint George, UT; White Fish, MT; Jackson, WY
WILLO BALFREY, who works in pastels and oils, has been a professional artist for a number of years.
Master Circle Pastelist – International Association of Pastel; Signature Member Pastel Society of America; Distinguished Pastelist - Pastel Society of the West Coast; Signature Member Northwest Pastel Society; Associate member Oil Painters of America; and Associate member American Impressionist Society, Inc.
Willo is a representational artist who specializes in landscapes. Having grown up in Durango, Colorado, she was surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, meadows, rimrocks, trees and streams dressed in the beautiful colors of the four seasons. “I was born in Bend, and often return to the area to enjoy the alpine lakes and the high desert. Now living in Northern California, the beauty still surrounds me with the many changing faces of the area of Northern California and parts of Oregon. I hope to bring the viewer into my work by painting the dramatic sense of light and the quiet solitude that I find in nature."
Trained as a graphic designer at Washington State University, but always an artist at heart, MELANIE THOMPSON was inspired to paint the landscape after working three seasons as a wildland firefighter. Never having spent much time outdoors, Thompson worked weeks at a time with her crew. The stunning vistas and fierce beauty of the nature around her were deeply embedded in her soul. The most important practice in Thompson’s artistic development has been extensive painting on location, or en plein air. Through direct observation she captures the effects of light and subtle colors that often are lost in photographs. Melanie is a member of OPA, AIS and PAWA, and has been featured in Plein Air Magazine and SW Art Magazine. Since 2012, she has been invited and juried into numerous shows/events in: AZ; CO; WA; MT; CA; OH; UT; OR; TX; IN; FL; and AL. Thompson has received prestigious awards in a large number of those shows. She is represented by galleries in: Tacoma, WA; Joseph, OR; Hamilton, MT; and Prineville, OR.