The pen and inks below (some with ink wash also) were done in late July and August for a September 2024 exhibit at Queen City Framing and Art Supply. Because the originals are all 12x16 inches with fine detail, when scanned, they create files too large to display here… they lose a fair bit in the reduced size, but you should still be able to get the general sense of things.

I’ve also printed a few sets of 5x7 greeting cards (one of each of the 9 drawings, with envelopes, in a clear-top box, $35); they are available at the Holter Museum of Art gift shop. You can also use the ‘contact’ page to order a set.

The pic below is of a sculpture in front of the Helena Civic Center. The sculpture was donated to the city in memory of Kyle Boundy, a talented singer/songwriter and artist who died in a car crash, far too young (age 26).

The Civic Center was originally built around 1921 in the Moorish Revival style as an Algeria Shrine (Shriner’s) temple, if I have my history right…. The building suffered damage in the 1935 earthquake, but was repaired. The Helena Symphony plays at the 1925-seat Civic Center, which also hosts many other acts. As well as the auditorium, the center includes a substantial ballroom, and the Helena Fire Department still has a station built into the east side (located through the trees in this view). [matted & framed, $300]

(below) the Pioneer Cabin: this is the only surviving cabin from Helena’s early gold rush mining period, and is now part of the city’s Reeder’s Alley park/historic site [matted & framed, $300]

(below) The State Capitol Building - of course I had to draw this one, since I’m living in the capital city! [matted and framed, $275]

Montana Wild runs a wildlife education program, as well as running a wildlife rehabilitation center. It’s located in an old foundry building; much of Helena’s old downtown contains castings from this foundry. I sketched and took pictures on a day when Montana Wild had held archery training for kids - note the targets leaned up in the entryway. The fiberglass “bear” on the left is part of the education program… there are other “animals” as well. Montana Wild is visible from my deck. When their fiberglass “moose” was installed, I got up the next morning and was sooo excited that a moose had chosen to visit… until I noticed that it didn’t move. [matted and framed, $300]

(below) (sold) A view of the Last Chance Walking Mall, including the old trolley and the Windbag Bar and Grill. The Windbag was a, um, a house of ill repute up until around 1972, when the ‘madam’ was finally arrested and put out of business. Until then, it was quite the social club as well as a bordello, very popular with the state legislators. [sold]

(below) The firetower, one of the few surviving from the frontier days of the West, is the symbol of the city of Helena. It was built after a couple of fires burned much of the old mining camp to the ground. It’s currently undergoing a multi-year restoration. [sold]

(below) This pic shows a bit more detail of the firetower - it gives an idea of what all is lost in a lower resolution scan. Yes, it is festooned with Christmas lights... looks quite festive when they turn ‘em on for holidays…

(below) The USS Helena memorial. There have been four vessels (FG-9, CL-50, CA-75 and SSN-725) named for the city of Helena, including a cruiser sunk by the Japanese during WWII. Today, a Los Angeles class submarine bears the name. The anchor is from the Cruiser CA-75. In the background, there’s another angle of the old fire tower as well as the “Bluestone House”, built in 1889, the same year that Montana became a state. [matted and framed, $275]

(below) (sold) The Saint Helena Cathedral is currently undergoing renovation. This drawing was done immediately before renovations started. The view is from the south-east corner, the rear of the cathedral. Note the open door…a couple of weeks later, I began a picture of the Holter Museum which shows the cathedral in the background with scaffolding around the north steeple…. but after serious consideration, I decided that the scaffolding was just too much of a pain to draw, so I’ve omitted it from the Holter drawing. Sometimes we make our artistic decisions based not on what’s there, but what’s easier! The Holter drawing is posted farther down the page. [sold]

(below) This detail view from the picture above also gives an idea of what is missing from the low-resolution scans I can put on this page…

(below) Sunday morning at the Holter Museum of Art, with Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church (showing above and to the right of the Holter) and the Saint Helena Cathedral (right) in the background. As you can see, I decided to omit the scaffolding mentioned above… I tried to include just enough detail so that your brain would fill in the rest, in order to keep it from detracting from the main subject. [matted & framed, $350]

Box (below) with each of the drawings above as 5x7 greeting cards, with envelopes, $35/box