METHOW GALLERY RELATIONSHIPS – 1

Methow Gallery is a place for art and creative ideas. A few years ago it was a brick and mortar gallery at TwispWorks and now it exists on the web. The curators of Methow Gallery, Donna Keyser and Laura Karcher, will be exploring the world of artistic relationships through a series of articles. This article serves as the first in the series and looks at the ongoing relationship between painter and sign-maker Donna Keyser and metal worker, designer and business owner Tim Odell.

The article coincides with a current commission that Donna Keyser is creating for Tim. Many years ago they met in the usual way…sign maker needs materials….sign maker finds metal guy. And off they went, Donna turning to Tim for expertise and Tim turning to Donna for his sign-making needs.  Tim said he “enjoyed seeing her growth” as a business person and professional in the community. And when she moved to a retail space on Glover Street he liked seeing his slick fire pits in the beautifully restored swanky Shackitecture setting.

Tim’s business, Alpine Welding, is steadily growing and the latest expansion includes a new office. According to Donna, “Tim came into my shop one day to deliver some metal I had ordered. I showed him my paintings and told the story of each one. The next day he called and asked me to paint a mural for his new office. He said he never bought art but he wanted an original work that celebrated his shop and its many accomplishments. Excited, I got to work creating a collage of images from his years of architecture, welding and cool projects into a cohesive painting.” Tim says that he has always liked Donna’s artistic style and is thrilled to be purchasing an original work of art.

The commission is stretching Donna’s artistic muscles. Her subject matter is usually nature. She does not often paint people or create a montage of images but says it was fun to work out the composition in Photoshop and transfer it to near life size. “This was a great project for bringing together my design skills, painting skills and love of large-scale projects,” Donna said. She thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of painting the story of Tim’s success. One story she chased down was one about Tim making the handrails at Washington Pass Overlook. She tromped through the snow to get pictures of the masterpiece so she could include it in the mural.

This is just one story among thousands of dynamic and rewarding creative relationships that develop in our small but mighty community.

CONTACT/INFO: Methow Gallery, donna@keyserstudios.com, methowarts.org/artists/Donna-Keyser or keyser-studios.square.site. Find Tim Odell at hotspotfirepits.com.