Winston Publishing

P.16 ~ PORTFOLIO > o u t w e s t a r t s h o w & s a l e TEXT BY AMY JOYNER Photos by Darrin Schreder T he Magazine commissioned painter Ron Ukrainetz in 2015 to create original artwork that could provide noticeable change for use as cover art for three magazine issues published in three consecutive years. Now complete, Ukrainetz has shown how art can evolve. This cover piece progressed from a sketched idea to a Western image created on canvas to become cover art for the 2015 Guide to Art Week in Great Falls. For 2016, a second development of that same art found its way to the Portfolio cover. Today, thousands of art lovers are reading the 2017 issue, adorned by the long-awaited third and concluding version of the Ukrainetz oil painting. "It's not just another painting. It's a thought process," says the 66-year-old painter and one of the leaders of the Outwest Art Foundation and its corresponding annual Outwest Art Show at the Best Western Plus Heritage Inn each spring. Though the art began with the artist's "thought pro- cess," Winston Publishing's Portfolio staff gathered their thoughts long before calling Ukrainetz. Winston Publishing Executive Editor/Partner Hayley Lenington-Leray remembers, "In our initial editorial meeting we were brainstorming ideas for the first issue when our creative director, Jen Moore, said, 'What if we follow an artist over the next three years as they bring a canvas to life and place different points of progress on each cover. The third year we can reveal the finished piece and disclose the artist behind the work?' The concept was very appealing. It represented the very nature of West- ern Art Week and conveyed the passion behind any artist's brush." From the beginning, Ukrainetz knew he would face some obstacles in the pending process. "It had to fit a cer- tain format; X-amount of space for the cover, including the magazine name," he says. "I had a small sketch. Then I met with ( publish- er and editor), and they wanted a vertical piece. We chose this one because it is not specifically a western art piece; it is western by location." With 80 percent of his paintings done with oil on a linen canvas, he chose that medium for the original. "I like to work on a smooth surface. (Which type) depends on if it is en plein air or a studio piece." For the image, the artist relied on his extensive knowledge of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The painting features Private George Shannon standing near the Missouri river on Eagle Creek. An 18-year-old Pennsylvania native, Shannon was the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. A THREE YEAR WORK IN PROGRESS Western Art Week's 2017 Cover Artist Revealed

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