“Flathead River in Paint” Online Auction is live and continues until Dec. 7

After an engaging and well-attended debut of artwork from the plein-air painting event at Montana Modern Fine Art in Kalispell on Nov. 9th, online bidding has begun on 23 pieces created for the Flathead River In Paint which kicks off fundraising for the Owen Sowerwine conservation project.

The paintings were displayed for a week at the gallery and will continue to be displayed at Park Side Credit Union branches in the Flathead Valley through the end of the auction.

Local artists Susan Guthrie, Tabby Ivy, Gini Ogle, Therese Ely, Francesca Droll, Karen Leigh, Rob Akey, Jeff Manion, Brandon Wiese, Mark Ogle, Tom Saubert, and Haakon Ensign along with Denise Gilroy of Idaho and Wendy Hale of Massachusetts translated the Flathead River into oil, watercolor and pastels.

The outdoor painting event took place on July 22, when these artists painted on conserved lands along the Flathead River from Bad Rock Canyon to Flathead Lake. The auction will help to translate these pieces into more conserved land along the Flathead River with proceeds helping to purchase a conservation easement of the 442-acre Owen Sowerwine property near Kalispell.

Flathead Land Trust, with help from partners Flathead River to Lake Initiative, Flathead Audubon and Flathead Lakers, is working to purchase a conservation easement on this critical ecological habitat near Kalispell. The property encompasses miles of shoreline of the braided Flathead and Stillwater Rivers, considered an Important Bird Area by Montana Audubon for the number and diversity of birds that depend on this area. Grizzly bears and bull trout, both listed as Threatened Species in Montana, also utilize this area, along with Westslope Cutthroat Trout, a Montana Species of Concern. The project also offers permanent funding for Montana K-12 schools, as part of the mission of Montana DNRC administered land.

To view the paintings online and to bid, please visit: auctria.events/FlatheadRiverInPaint.

Bidding will continue until midnight on Dec. 7. For more details about the Owen Sowerwine conservation project, please visit: https://www.flatheadlandtrust.org/conserve-owen-sowerwine/