LIVINGSTON — Livingston, Montana has a rich and complex history, part of being its expansive art community. And every year, for nearly 35 years, the town has been putting on the Livingston Art Walk—giving local artists the chance to shine.
"It’s a big part of a story of shifting from a primarily railroad town to now. I know at one point the state referred to, it was a creative cluster; in fact, they studied it because of that," says Laura Bray, the owner of Frame Garden in Livingston.
She owns one of the businesses hosting local artists and their creations for the art walk. Bray invited emerging artist Allie Louise to show off her first solo series, "Under a Western Sky"—a collection of Montana-inspired animals and landscapes.
"So, I actually went to school for pre-med and when COVID happened, I kind of started dabbling in art again," says Louise.
While pursuing her degree, Louise says she began to realize that she desired more creativity in her life.
Bray tells me Allie Louise is one of the only artists she's seen creating hyper-realistic photos using pastels.
"One thing about pastel that has really intrigued me is that you obviously can accomplish a photo-realistic style with them. Which a lot of people don’t do with pastel," Louise says.
Downtown Tourism Director Kris King says that the arts have always allowed people to express their interpretation of the landscape before them.
"The power of the arts is really to tell the contemporary story of people living here now, what they’re experiencing, and that is all the underpinning and foundation of the history of the area," she says.
And to all aspiring artists, Allie says, "Just take the leap of faith. I know that sounds so cliché but it’s so true because I honestly would not be here with this show had I not done that to begin with."
The Livingston art walk starts on Friday, July 26, 2024. Visit the website for more information.
