Jeff
Walker
Jeff Walker's youth was spent observing,
investigating and recording Montana's bird life, ridges and prairies. He received
his degree from Montana State University, did graduate work at Eastern Montana
College, then taught secondary level art. In 1971, Mr. Walker bought an etching
press and an old log cabin near Belt, Montana (pop. 633), and left teaching to
become an artist full-time.
Thirty
years later, the Montana landscape remains the principal inspiration for Mr. Walker's
tranquil oil paintings and poetic etchings. The artist combines etching and watercolor
in his small-edition prints, which he pulls by hand and then paints individually.
In this way, each of Walker's etchings is an original: some are subtly tinted,
while others have the depth of watercolor paintings.
A
naturalist in heart and spirit, Walker lives, paints and observes Montana's seasons
from his home and studio outside of Great Falls. "All of my subjects come
from within 100 miles of Great Falls," he says. "I have enough right
here to keep me going for the rest of my life."