Painters Spankie and Tierney get fresh at Teton Artlab

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

By Henry Sweets

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Craig Spankie can’t quite get rid of his cows.

The New Zealand-to-Jackson transplant was known, after his arrival here almost four years ago, for painting small, grazing cows and sheep against a stark horizon.
His art has been well-received here because the paintings conjure up similarly peaceful, transcendent moments like those inspired by Teton County landscapes. Now, Spankie said he wants to let the relationship between earth and sky be defined with the presence of the animals. But getting the cows and sheep out of his work has been difficult because the animals make a strong “balance point,” he said.

Spankie said his paintings are now becoming more three-dimensional.
Instead of painting a ground and sky, Spankie builds a separate board for each component of a painting. He uses aged materials for the lower, earthy portion and sleek, shiny materials for the sky. The horizon he creates by juxtaposing two textures is magnetic, and he needs a third reference point to do something with it. An animal once provided that reference, but he is now using a break in the horizon line, a strip of metal, or a mysterious hole in the painting to get the desired effect. The materials used in his paintings come from several different places: some were found on construction sites or recycling cooperatives in New Zealand, while others came from remodeling his home in East Jackson. The characteristics of the found materials are what inspire his paintings, Spankie said.

Before coming to Jackson, Spankie was a carpenter in New Zealand for 20 years. Burned out on his carpentry business, he decided to put himself through art school at the age of 35. He won an art contest after graduation, which helped him gain plenty of gallery representation in his home country. He supported himself as an artist in New Zealand, and then met his future wife, Gretchen, who was traveling in New Zealand but lived in Jackson. He moved here to marry Gretchen. The couple started a family, and Spankie continued to paint his style of landscapes.

A variety of Spankie’s work will show some development of his latest techniques at the Teton Artlab in a show titled, “Fresh Paint.” The show will also feature the work of Mike Tierney.

Before his art caught attention in the valley, Tierney earned a reputation in Jackson for skiing chutes, couloirs and faces that are only negotiable in the minds of a few possessed skiers. In his new art, he is exploring his creative boundaries. He said the same force that drives him to ski off cliffs has led him to find new frontiers of expression in his painting.

Tierney’s deep focus last winter with skiing unthinkable lines on Cody Peak helped him generate paintings of the mountain with a subtle message of the hill’s power and its living, breathing spirit. In the off-season, his creative mind has ventured into worlds of color, shapes and moving planes. Expect to see some classic Cody images, complete with hidden human faces and long-cast shadows, as well as some abstract works.

Spankie and Tierney will show their “Fresh Paint” at Teton Artlab starting with a reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 4, at the Artlab, 135 N. Cache #5. Call 699-0836 for more information.

Photo by SPENCER SIMENSEN
Can you find all the faces of Cody Peak on painter Mike Tierney’s mural, displayed at the Igneous Ski Factory?

PERMALINK:
Painters Spankie and Tierney get fresh at Teton Artlab | Planet JH News Article: Arts Beat

Leave a Comment