It is not hard to imagine from where artist Jerry McKellar gets his artistic inspiration, living as he does on the outskirts near the town of Colville in beautiful Northeast Washington. Jerry and his wife Gayle share space with abounding wildlife and spectacular scenery. I first met Jerry McKellar when I served as one of the early board members of the Spokane Valley Arts Council several years ago. Our first major project was to finance the installation and creation of a“ larger than life” bronze by McKellar, called Working the Line, which would be placed at the Mirabeau Park in Spokane Valley. Through the hard work of the volunteer committee and several art auction fund-raisers, we were successful in that effort and Working the Line was installed in 2009 and became the first major art installation in the young city of Spokane Valley. McKellar’ s bronze statue today has become somewhat of an icon in the Valley and subject of many photo opportunities over the years.
Working The Line Medium: Bronze
Size: 8 1 / 2’ x 6 1 / 2’ x 4’
Artist Jerry McKellar
This story was not the first relationship that Jerry McKellar has had with Spokane Valley and it is certainly not his last. A little background on Jerry McKellar: Jerry graduated from the University of Washington in 1969 with a DDS degree. He began his art endeavors as a self-taught artist and has experimented with many art forms such as painting, scratchboard and ultimately sculpting. As a dentist he learned much about physiology and the human form, which has aided his ability to sculpt the detailed facial features he is so well known for. Jerry’ s success has placed dozens of his works around the nation from Washington to Vermont and nearly everywhere in between. Jerry has also been featured in several nationally recognized art magazines and publications. Jerry retired from dentistry in 1994 to pursue his art career full time.
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