Show celebrating workers in timber opens Friday

Join Gretchen Finch,  a Whitefish resident, for her show celebrating “Workers in our Woods” at the Bigfork Museum of Art & History, March 6–28. The opening reception is on March 6 from 5-7 p.m. 

Gretchen grew up in New Jersey, but after visiting Wyoming as a teenager, she fell in love with all things Western. She graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona, was active in collegiate rodeo while attending, and later immersed herself deeply in the western lifestyle when she and her husband ran dude ranches in Jackson Hole.

After moving to Whitefish in the 1990s, Finch finally had time to pursue her painting. Her favorite subjects are scenes of ranch life, western landscapes and portraits. She has attended workshops, entered many shows and is a prolific artist even though she keeps busy on a daily basis teaching watercolor, hosting Christian fellowship in her home, and hiking with her Welsh corgi, Owen, on the wooded trails around her home. It is these woods and her appreciation for the hard-working employees of the timber industry that inspired Gretchen to paint a series of 14 portraits and images of the lumber company whose land borders hers. She has taken a workshop from and holds in high esteem the watercolorist Mary Whyte. Whyte’s sensitive and reverent portraits of blue-collar workers in their less-than glamorous environments, impressed upon Gretchen a desire to challenge herself with this project. 

The personal and passionate vision she had some years back is now shared with the public in the form of expressive portraits depicting man and machine at the F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Company. 

“Paint what you know, and paint what you love.” She believes then, your paintings will be successful and contain heart and soul. She spent time with her subjects and her care for them is evident in her vibrant portraits, and the theme of her show is a testament to her belief in land stewardship and the value of our local renewable resources.

Also featured during the show will be hand-crafted wood products by local artisans. 

For information contact the Bigfork Museum of Art and History at www.bigforkmuseum.org 406-837-6927.