We closed early this past Friday and headed up to Whitefish to attend a gallery opening for Clint Walker, Editor-in-Chief of Flathead Living Magazine and photographer extraordinaire. We've represented Clint here in the gallery for about a year now; his photographs are much admired and have sold quite well for us. This is a bit of a surprise, not because Clint isn't a talented photographer, but because selling photographs is actually a little difficult.
People tend to look at photos and say, "Hey, that's cool. I could do that." With the advent of better and better digital cameras, much of the technical skill required to take an attractive photograph is done for you now. But honestly, it's all about the composition, and that's where Clint really excels. His vision is unique, and people admire his work, rather than thinking they could duplicate it. Take Buffalo River, for example:
Anybody can get a snapshot of buffalo, particularly around Yellowstone National Park where they're about as common as mosquitoes. But maybe one in a thousand can capture the interplay of light, the scale and the compositional framing to make the buffalo truly appear like the magnificent creature that it is. Anybody can take a picture, but Clint's photographs are truly Fine Art.
Piney Creek Interiors in Whitefish just moved into a new 6000 square foot retail space downtown on Baker Avenue, right next to Coffee Traders. The location is a huge improvement, and Dena and her staff have filled the showroom with a great collection of furnishings and accessories, but the huge "bonus room" upstairs is the gem, so far as I'm concerned. It's a large open loft-like space with high ceilings and soaring windows, and frankly, it's a great place for a party! The space is currently filled with a unique collection of Clint's photos - he's done some really innovative printing with metalized papers and unusual mounting, and he let us go wild on the framing. We're particularly proud of the frame we came up for the photo o Clint and Alisha's daughter, Beau.
Recently featured on the cover of Flathead Living, Beau is shown holding her first fish ever, wearing a red and white checked gingham shirt and fishing gear that would make her daddy proud. We framed her with an Italian lacquer moulding that exactly matches her shirt, and surrounded it with a distressed white frame that exactly duplicated the boards of the dock. The end result is perfect, if I do say so myself. One woman told Clint towards the end of the evening that she'd pay ANYTHING to own the photograph. That's a pretty good sign....
Friday's opening was a great event - loads of people, mountains of sushi and accolades all around.
This coming Friday night - July 16th - marks the official Grand Opening of Piney Creek Interiors, so Clint will be there again, signing photos and working the room as only he can do. Though it's hard for me as a loyal Bigforker, I must admit that Whitefish will be the place to be tomorrow night!
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