But his love of the outdoors is not confined to the Dishman Hills . “ There is a man who is always bribing me to paint his woodlot . Then there is the St . Joe River , which I also love to paint . To me , you get down on the riverbank and there it is . How can you go wrong with all that beauty right in front of you ? I think I have sold every piece I have done on the St . Joe . It takes your breath away . There is a magnetism that draws people to it .”
Looking at nature , again and again , he sees that each time is a little different . Every nuance depends on the day , the time , and the weather , and he wants to share each of those experiences with others . Montgomery paints mostly with oils . His love of the outdoors and the beauty he finds there are evident in his many paintings .
“ I do a lot of plein air painting , where I go outside and paint . There is only so much time in which to finish . I try to make observations and do as much with notes and color notes as I can . Later , I might make a big painting from a little one .
“ I try to do a painting in about four or five hours . We believe what we see , and we paint it and don ’ t question it . Then I let it sit for a few days . Sometimes I ’ ll throw a painting away , and my wife will rescue it out of the trash . I am my own worst critic . I have a little round mirror that I use to get a second opinion of what I do .”
There are heroes in Montgomery ’ s own journey in art . He admires and is inspired by some of the masters like Renoir , Monet , and Van Gogh , and he holds Spokane artists in the highest esteem . “ I think the artists in Spokane are the best artists in the world ,” he says and praises each one for the willingness to share , to encourage other artists , and to help others succeed in any way they can .
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