PRESS

KGPR Voices & Views 4/7/2018 Montana Public Radio
Sunday Painter visits Tom Halverson of 89.9FM KGPR Montana Public Radio's "Voices and Views" to discuss upcoming plein air gatherings in and around Great Falls Montana.


KGPR Voices & Views 2/3/2018 Montana Public Radio
Sunday Painter visits Tom Halverson of 89.9FM KGPR Montana Public Radio's "Voices and Views" to talk about art in Great Falls Montana.


GFHS athletes connect with the community at Sunday Painter 2/7/2018  
Bison football players Hunter Boyd and Hayden Johnson posed for local artists at a Sunday Painter session on Super Bowl Sunday. Wochit




 KRTV News in Great Falls, Montana 1/28/2018 
Mountain Man, Michael Sherrard of Shelby, MT, posed for Sunday Painter alongside his animal friends, Bear, Badger and Bobcat (loaned courtesy of Timberland Taxidermy) on Sunday, 1-28-2018. Special thanks to The Great Falls Public Library, KRTV and Kaley Collins for sharing Sunday Painter with your viewers!



KGPR Voices & Views 1/6/2018 Montana Public Radio
Great Falls, Montana artists Josh Ewald, Sam Houston, and Doug Stinger join Tom Halverson to discuss local art scene on "Voices & Views" on 89.9FM KGPR Montana Public Radio



TARVARIOUS HAYWARD of KFBB VISITS AND SHARES SUNDAY PAINTER Christmas 2017


MONTANA PUBLIC RADIO 89.9FM KGPR GREAT FALLS



Sunday Painter visits Tom Halverson of "Voices & Views" Great Falls to invite the community to gather and make art. Broadcast on KGPR 89.9FM Montana Public Radio 12/9/2017





10/25/2017 GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE

Cover Photo: Doug Stinger and Samantha Houston Paint Plein-Air at Montana's Beloved

FIRST PEOPLES BUFFALO JUMP  STATE PARK

10/15/2017 WRITTEN BY TRACI ROSENBAUM 

Monday, October 9, 2017

Local Morticians Prove Art Isn't Dead

by Traci Rosenbaum (Great Falls Tribune)


What do morticians do in their off hours?

It sounds like the start of a joke, but the answer for one Great Falls couple is no laughing matter. On Sundays, Jane and Dwight Cushman dress for the weather, gather up their supplies and head outdoors to make some serious art.

The Cushmans, who work for Croxford Funeral Home, moved to town from Washington in July. By August, they were already laying the groundwork for Sunday Painter, a group of folks who meet every Sunday and produce art without pressure.

Sunday Painter is not a class. No one is there to provide critique. No one is comparing their work to yours.

"We're trying to create a space where there's no instruction, no competition," said Dwight. "It lets the fun come out in the work."

During the spring and summer months, artists bring their own supplies and work outdoors in sessions the Cushmans call “paint-outs.” The idea is to get artists out of their studios and into a social group of like-minded people for plein air painting, sketching and other forms of art.

Dwight Cushman has been making art his whole life, and Jane has been an artist for 15 years. They went to school for mortuary science together, and they have learned over the years to look for the art in everything.

"I think mortuary work is sort of an art," said Dwight. "You make people presentable in order to be said goodbye to."

Sunday was the final outdoor session of Sunday Painter, and the Cushmans braved 40-degree temperatures, precipitation and, of course, Montana winds to visit the old Highland Calvary Cemetery to capture a historic vista where man meets nature.

“We thought it was fun because being October, people are thinking about fall and death and the end,” said Dwight on the location choice.

“Plus, we’re morticians,” he added with a chuckle.

Since Sept. 10, the Sunday Painters have created art at the Great Falls International Airport’s Air Park, Rainbow Scenic Overlook, Giant Springs State Park and the First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park. The group will now move indoors to a generous space inside the Great Falls Public Library for the winter.

The Cushmans seemed destined to land in the Electric City. A few months before relocating, Dwight saw a group of Charlie Russell reproductions in a Salvation Army store and snatched them up.

“I started getting really Russell crazy,” Dwight said.

When they were looking at Great Falls, the flourishing arts community was a good sign. Then Dwight discovered that Croxford Funeral Home was just a few blocks from the C.M. Russell Museum.

“We were very impressed when we saw what Great Falls had to offer,” said Jane.

The couple even settled in old Charlie’s neighborhood, finding a place to rent by chance after talking to a person walking a dog near the Russell Museum.

Sunday Painter came into being shortly thereafter, when the Cushmans took something that they weren’t seeing in Great Falls and made it happen.

Jane, who is currently expecting her first child, encourages parents to load up some supplies and bring their kids.

During the Giant Springs session, Jane said, “We had a lot of kids that stopped and wanted to make art.”

So far, Sunday Painter sessions have been well-received and well-attended by artists of all ages, and the whole idea is to add camaraderie and fun to the creative process. The Cushmans believe this sort of environment encourages attendees to keep their art dynamic, get inspired by each other and enjoy the companionship, support and safety of painting together.

“This isn’t your grandma’s paint-out,” said Dwight.

“But we welcome your grandma, too,” finished Jane.

The next session of Sunday Painter starts a new feature of the club: using local volunteers as models for portrait painting. On Oct. 15, participants get to paint “The Biker” based on a female model from Great Falls.

The library is even allowing the model to bring her Harley-Davidson motorcycle into the building’s basement especially for the session.

Artists should bring their own supplies to Sunday Painter sessions, even if it’s just a sketch pad and a pencil. In general, there are no fees involved in the sessions, although there may be special premium paint-outs or workshops that include an admission cost, room rental or model fee.

Sunday Painter times, locations and special events can be found on their website, sundaypainter.org, or their Facebook page.

In the future, the Cushmans hope to continue exploring many more local and regional spots for outdoor painting, including farmlands, mountain ranges, waterways, forests and historic destinations.

Ultimately, their goal is to build a network of painters who go out and make art together throughout Montana by partnering with other artists who wish to host paint-outs. As the numbers of paint-out groups grow, they envision bringing artists together for larger paint-outs semi-annually.

 

TRACI ROSENBAUM OF GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE
VISITS SUNDAY PAINTER AT CALVARY CEMETERY

Sunday, October 8 2017

Thrilled to meet Ms. Traci Rosenbaum of the Great Falls Tribune.
Special thanks to Traci Rosenbaum of the Great Falls Tribune. 
We are honored and excited to get Sunday Painter shared with more folks in Great Falls!


JOSH MENY AT KRTV VISITS AND SHARES SUNDAY PAINTER

Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017





This article and video also appeared on:

Thanks to Mr. Meny for your time and for the articles above,
and to KRTV, KTVQ and KXLH for publishing/sharing this article!


Great Falls Tribune - Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017
Thanks to Mr. Hugo for your time in getting our event in the paper, 
to Ms. Rosenbaum for sharing our gatherings, and to the Great Falls Tribune!

 

 

TARVARIOUS HAYWARD AT KFBB VISITS AND SHARES SUNDAY PAINTER

Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017

 

Thanks to Mr. Haywood for your time and for this article, to Mr. Hawkins for sharing the gathering,
and to KFBB and KULR for publishing the article!
 
See original posting on the KFBB website.

This article and video also appeared on:

  

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)