Dear readers,

Sunshine! warmth! wildflowers, birds, green grass, agility season - all the joys of spring and summer are infecting us here in western Montana!

Recently, a collector wrote to me asking for help in documenting the insurance value of a painting of mine that she owns. In her email, she noted ..."I wanted you to know that with the recent fires I asked my husband what he would grab first if we had to evacuate ever again. I was surprised that after the dog...his answer was [their Chapman painting]. Little does he know it wouldn't be there. I'd already be in the car with it!". Her email put a broad smile on my face, and I just had to share it with you.

I have a lot of wonderful news to relate in this issue - read on and share my joy!

In this issue:

Newsbytes and calendar
Tidbits
TWO (count 'em!) new galleries!!
2015 RMEF Featured Artist!
Readers Respond

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

Newsbytes / calendar -- WORKSHOPS IN 2014 and 2015 -- I have retitled my workshops to "The Art of Seeing Animals" - a better description of our focus in these events. KALISPELL, MT (Triple D Game Farm) - Sept. 26-29, 2014. This workshop is now FULL and there is a waitlist. WIMBERLEY, TX (Creekhaven Inn) - Feb. 2-5, 2015. An intensive experience in the beautiful comfort of Creekhaven Inn in Wimberley, an hour outside of Austin in the lovely Texas hill country. Call Bill Appleman at 800-827-1913 or visit the workshop website. WHITEFISH, MT - June 29, Summer Art Social: As noted in the May issue, this year the event will include a silent (wall) auction and a live auction of a finished piece. My live auction painting, "Decorated for Battle", is shown below. CALGARY, ALBERTA - July 10, Stampede Art Auction: CHECK OUT PAGE 70 of the June issue of Southwest Art magazine for a good view of my painting in the auction! WHOOP!! CHEYENNE, WY- July 17, Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show: I'm participating again this year - several of the images I'm sending to the show are shown right and below.	Tough Enough to Wear Pink 20 x 16, oil on canvas panel -- Will be available at Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show -- Guys (and gals) with guns galloping around on horseback (aka "Cowboy Mounted Shooting") provide me with plenty of color, interesting compositional possibilities, and a modern take on the "old west" history of Montana.
Decorated for Battle 18 x 30 oil on canvas panel -- To be auctioned at the Whitefish Summer Art Social on June 29 -- This bad boy was strutting his stuff during the rut, tail candy-caned, and sporting shrubbery after thrashing nearby vegetation - what an artistic delight! Living near the National Bison Range, of course, affords me wonderful access to bison (and other animals) throughout the summer. While horses have always been a favorite subject, bison have now become one of my choice vehicles for exploration of technique, abstraction, and color. Flighty #2 10 x 20 scratchboard -- Will be available at Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show -- What could be more thrilling than a herd of horses stretched out in full flight? This board was rather painstaking for its relatively small size, and I think the results were worth the time.

Tidbits - on purpose "An artist's job is to say the most with the least." - Andrew Hamilton "I paint for the sole purpose of magnifying the privilege of being alive." - Robert Henri "The defining function of the artist is to cherish consciousness." - Max Eastman "The artist is not a person endowed with free will who seeks his own ends, but one who allows art to realize its purpose within him." - Carl Gustav Jung

TWO (Woot!) New Galleries! I am tremendously proud to announce new representation in Montana and Arizona!
Creighton Block Gallery in Big Sky, Montana (33 Lone Peak Drive) will be featuring my large, contemporary western pieces, such as "Coats of Paint" (below). The gallery currently has a lovely announcement of my representation on their home page (whoohoo!). Colin Mathews, the owner, is an enthusiastic businessperson with a stable of excellent artists and a fascinating life history (ask him for some stories!). Coats of Paint 24 x 36 oil on gallery-wrapped canvas	Rowe Gallery in Sedona, Arizona (Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village) will be representing my paintings and scratchboards of wildlife, particularly species found in the Southwest. One of my paintings newly arrived at the gallery is "Double Take", below. Ken Rowe is a wonderful sculptor and a kind and generous soul, and I'm delighted to be working with him. Double Take 18 x 36 oil on gallery-wrapped canvas

2015 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Featured Artist! RMEF will be using just 3 artists and images in its art program next year, and I'm thrilled to be one of those three! This is the first time RMEF will try a scratchboard image in its art program - wow. They'll be making a set of limited-edition prints of this image to be auctioned at their fundraising banquets next year; I'll also have a few of the prints to offer my collectors as well.
Badass #2 16 x 20 scratchboard This bad boy will be one of the three images in the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Featured Art program in 2015. However, RMEF wanted a different title (can't imagine why) so his print will be titled "High, Wide and Handsome". Those who are familiar with Montana will recognize this as one of our informal state slogans (along with "Last Best Place", a sort of de facto trademark for our state).

READERS RESPOND - footnotes to the May Artzine: "I remember one of the first times that a piece of yours truly stunned me: the polo horses that you did for an auction where I thought they were going to come right off the canvas and either trample me or drench me with the sweat running off them. You've done it many times since then but I-swear-to-god! that springbok looks like I should be able to feel each individual horn ridge just by running my finger over the computer screen!!! (said as I once again shake my head in wonder) ... Thank you for sharing so much of yourself and taking the time/effort to put out the Artzine ... I love our peeks into your life and studio!-- what a LOVELY note; thank you, Sharon L.! "Holland & Holland. That is awesome & awesome. :-). I just thought I'd let you know that I think your scratchboards featured in this month's newsletter are outstanding." -- Thank you for the great note, Rick E.!

That's it for June. 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

Artwork of 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