Dear readers,

I canNOT believe that it's July already!! What happened to June? The solstice has come and gone - always a bit sad for me, because now the days get shorter...but still, Montana is far enough north that our days are very long for a while!

And a WARM WELCOME to the new folks on my Artzine list whom I met at the Whitefish Summer Social yesterday! (Thank you Bill & Rusty D. for your patronage!)

* Does this email look wonky? See the issue online.

Newsbytes / calendar My website now has a new "Events" page, collecting together all these calendar items along with the artwork at each event. CALGARY, ALBERTA - July 12: Two works of mine will be auctioned at the Calgary Stampede. YES, the Stampede is still on, despite the recent floods - their new motto is "Stampede, Come Hell or High Water"! Come on out and support the grit and determination of the Calgary folks...Oh, and HEY - my work is on the cover of the catalog! CHEYENNE, WY - July 18-31: I'll have new work (see it on my Events page!) at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Art Show again this year, and I will be attending the opening events on July 17-19. JACKSON, WY - Sept 12-13: I'm honored to be part of the Western Visions show and sale at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. In this issue "You're So Talented!" Whitefish Summer Social report	The cover of the Calgary Stampede Auction catalog!! This is one of my two paintings in the auction, "Blondes Have More Fun". This is the first time I've had artwork on a catalog cover - I'm chuffed! To see my other painting in the auction, please visit my Events web page.
Tidbits - on talent "There is no such thing as great talent without great willpower." (Honore de Balzac) "What mankind wants is not talent, it is purpose; not the power to achieve, but the will to labor." (Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton) "I don't believe in this 'gifted few' concept, just in people doing things they are really interested in doing. They have a way of getting good at whatever it is." (Charles Eames) "What they call talent is nothing but the capacity for doing continuous work in the right way." (Winslow Homer) -- The man knew what he was talking about! read on...
"You're So Talented!"
I can't count the number of times I've heard this phrase - but it's always rubbed me wrong, and it turns out, it IS all wrong! As promised in my June Artzine, I want to discuss a book on talent I recently read (Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everyone Else, by Geoff Colvin). Basically, the book posits that there isn't really any such thing as talent - that every case we point to as evidence of talent (think of Mozart, or Tiger Woods) is really evidence of hard work. The fathers of both Mozart and Tiger Woods started their youngsters in their fields very early in life, and made sure they practiced for hours every day, week, month... The reason "you're so talented!" rubs me wrong is that it seems to dismiss the years and years of effort I've put into what I do - and, indeed, that's what the book is about. The premise it explores is that "deliberate practice" - lengthy, focused effort designed to strengthen weaknesses and push boundaries - makes for top-notch performers. The book suggests that you don't start getting good at something until you've invested 10 years of focused practice...! This is, of course, a ridiculously brief summary of a book-length topic. I urge you to read this, or one of the other new books on the same topic (for some reason a spate of these has come out recently). Most of all, the book's thesis underlines how much work it takes to achieve anything other than average performance - something to keep in mind next time you look at an artwork price tag!	SOLD! at Missoula International Airport I haven't done many wolf pieces - either painting or scratchboard - because I want to make an original statement, not repeat the artistic cliches surrounding wolves. "Here's Lookin' at You, Kids" 12 x 24 oil on canvas ...newly available at Missoula International Airport
Whitefish Summer Social Report!
This is my second year participating in this wonderful event. The Whitefish Community Foundation invites a small group of mostly Montana artists to an auction and fundraiser at the Iron Horse Golf Club in Whitefish. We artists get wined, dined, and hosted in the gorgeous summer homes of various collectors who are involved in the event. Each artist provides a painting for silent auction, and also completes a Quick Finish piece for live auction that evening. (The latter is finished while we are plied with excellent wine, which may or may not improve the final result.) I'm just home from the Social, which took place yesterday in unseasonable heat. First, a HUGE thank you to my hosts, Jay & Mignon L.!! I shared the shade at the Iron Horse, on the slopes of Big Mountain just north of Whitefish, with a number of other notable Montana artists, including Tom Gilleon, Carol Hagan, and Whitney Hall. We painted (or attempted to) for about 2 hours, while chatting with the Social attendees and various collectors and fortifying ourselves with pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc, after which our paintings were auctioned to raise money for the Whitefish Community Foundation. I am honored to have been invited to the event and pleased with how it all went, and - as usual - my only regret was not getting enough time with both collectors (hi, Jim & Janice C.!) and with my fellow artists.	"Cowgirl Glory" 20 x 16 - oil on canvas on my easel and ready to be finished at the Whitefish Summer Social... ...and a "plein aire" still life of my painting table at the end of the evening. Tom Gilleon used it for his wine as well, so this ain't ALL mine...
READERS RESPOND - footnote to the June Artzine: "LOVE the horses painting at sunrise to be auctioned off......just gorgeous! ...Congratulations on your being in an "international" publication! Keep up the GREAT work! " - Susan S. "#1 is the horses. Wow, good detail on the muscles" - Karen M.

That's it for July. I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter (and thank you to the many readers who respond after each Artzine, thus giving me good material for the "Footnotes" section :-) - if so, I encourage you to share it with anyone and everyone. I appreciate your help in building a bigger audience for my work!

Warmest regards,
Julie T. Chapman

Painting Today’s Wild West (and Africa!) with Contemporary Flair
(406) 546-2636
20900 Whitetail Ridge Road * Huson, MT 59846
Artsite: www.JulieTChapman.com
Find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/JulieTChapmanArtist