ROBERT SPANNRING

Artist Statement

“I am a visual person I prefer to speak in visual language, my art.”

“Just as some people prefer to communicate with the spoken language or the written language, I speak in visual language, by drawing, painting and sculpting my perceptions of the non-physical spaces that occupy my mind and the physical world around me. I love the processes of drawing, painting, and sculpting, exploring the mind for elements, visual symbols, which are related to each other directly and indirectly that interact to tell a story. I go and explore the land, to view, to feel the mood, to occupy the space, to watch the creatures; the deer, the bear, the lion, move amongst the grasses and the trees, to watch the light sculpt and define the surface of the land, to watch the power of changing climate, moving storm clouds, a tree bent in the wind or the calm at dusk. These observations are my dictionary, my bible, my well of thoughts that help me tell a story, the story of people, the story of land, the story of creatures, the story of ideas. Just as our lives are made of stories, a simple sentence, a quick jester of the hand, a verbal tale about a memory, I create visual drawings, paintings, a delicate line across paper, a dash of paint, color and texture, a finished work of art.”

ROBERT SPANNRING
ART OF THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE
39 YELLOWSTONE TRAIL, PRAY, MONTANA 59065
spannringstudio.com
E–Mail robert@spannringstudio.com Ph. (406) 220-0126

Robert Spannring since 1976 has been a fine Artist, during the first twenty years Robert worked as an illustrator and watercolorist. Much of these early years were developing his skills in drawing with pencil, pen and ink, watercolor washes. His subject matter was devoted to wildlife and the land they occupied. After attending Montana State University, in 1978 - 1980 his life drawing classes expanded his desire to seek other subjects, Robert began to explore still life’s, figure, and abstract objects.

Then in 1984-1986, working for Russell Chatham, provided Robert the opportunity to watch and learn different techniques in the painting profession. In 1987 – 1992 Robert became the Artist in Residence at Lake Hotel, after being awarded the contract to produce all the artwork for the Hotel renovation of which his work still hangs today in Yellowstone National Park.

1986 – 2001 Robert helped start the Wade Gallery with his wife Kelly Wade, then in 1990 started working part-time at the Gallery, in sales, framing, crating and exhibit preparation.

1992 – 2000 Robert focused on Illustration projects for different organizations, a founding member of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, which is to preserve and identify the environmental needs of the area. Robert has worked for the National Forest Service, Montana Dept of Parks and Wildlife, Defenders of Wildlife, Boone and Crockett Club, and many other groups.

2001-2004 After many years being a Watercolorist, Robert decided to add oil painting to his other skills, for he has the desire to express ideas on a larger scale. This is an exciting time to attend workshops, build a new skill level, painting everyday, exploring new boundaries.

In 2003 Robert’s painting “One Canoe Tree” was accepted into the Journey’s End National Art Exhibit, 40 works of art were accepted out of 425 entries.

Spring of 2004, Robert’s oil painting “Light After the Storm” Paradise Valley was selected for the Salon International 2004, sponsored by GreenHouse Gallery of San Antonio, Texas. 244 painting were selected out of 700 entries. Plus Robert’s oil painting was chosen for an award, making the top fifty paintings in the exhibit.





One Person Shows, every year

1976-1978 Danforth Community Gallery, Livingston, Montana
1977-1982 Reeder’s Alley Gallery, Helena, Montana
1980-1985 Roche Jaune Gallery, Livingston, Montana
1986-2001 Wade Gallery, Livingston, Montana
2001- 2003 Valentine Fine Art, Livingston, Montana


1978 – 2004 Select Group Shows

C.M. Russell Western Art Show and Auction, Great Falls, Montana
White Sulphur Spring Western Art Show, White Sulphur Spring, Montana
Yellowstone Art Center, Billings, Montana
Park City Art Festival, Park City, Utah
Art Faire in the Gardens, Beverly Hills, California
Copper King Western Art Show, Butte, Montana
Lewistown Art Center, Lewistown, Montana
Arts 1992, Philadelphia Art Institute, Philadelphia, PA
Journey’s End National Art Exhibition, Portland Oregon

1986 – 1990 Past Gallery Representation

Wade Gallery, Livingston, Montana
Bighorn Galleries, Cody Wyoming
Wild Wings Gallery, Jackson Wyoming
Mountain Meadowlark Gallery, Laurel, Montana
Yellowstone Galleries, Gardiner, Montana
Hole in the Wall Gallery, Ennis, Montana
Art Images, Bozeman, Montana

1990 – 2004 Present Gallery Representation

Wade Gallery – Valentine Fine Art, Livingston, Montana
Toucan Gallery, Billings, Montana
Angler Art and Gifts, Denver Colorado
FirePlace Center and Gallery, Bozeman, Montana
Hodges Fine Art, Big Timber, Montana
Yellowstone Galleries, Gardiner, Montana






Art Residencies

1987- 1992 Lake Hotel, Yellowstone National Park

Workshops attended

2001 Scott Christensen, Scottsdale School of Art
2003 Zhang Wen Xin, Jim Wilcox’s Workshop



1992- 2004 Past and Present Illustration Clients


Boone and Crockett Club
Bugle Boy
Defenders of Wildlife
Eagle Pass Ranch
Greater Yellowstone Coalition
Greg Lilly Fly Fishing Services
KLB Exhibits - Black-Footed Ferret Project
Bureau of Land Management
Beaverhead National Forest
Lolo Scenic Byway Project
North Fork Project
Yellowstone Arbor Day Project
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Project
International Federation of FlyFishers
Montana Audubon Council
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks
Roberts Reinhart Publishers, Letters from Yellowstone
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Bugle Magazine
Sasquatch Books, Field Guide to the Grizzly Bear
Stackpole Books, Fly Casting for Everyone
T.W. Services
United States Forest Service
Western States Publishers, North Face of Yellowstone

Robert resides in Pray, Montana in the middle of Paradise Valley.