Inspired by living and traveling in Montana and the American West, Pam Little’s digital and traditional paintings capture the spirit and energy of the landscape and animals. Visit her website to see more of her work.
“Turkeys in the Fall Sun” Digital Painting, 14” x 10”
I think that I have always been making drawings or paintings of some sort, from elementary school through to graduate school and beyond. After getting my MA in Biomedical Communications, and working several years at the University of Miami School of Medicine, I made a huge change and took a job in Libby, Montana. It wasn’t until that change that I started to devote more time to personal artwork, with sketchbooks of landscapes and pets.
“Buffalo Ford” Digital Painting, 24” x 13”
A move to the Bitterroot Valley in 1998 increased my opportunities to hike and observe nature, and my husband and I began making many trips into the Bob Marshall Wilderness, where we were married, and to Yellowstone National Park.
“Raven Gathering” Digital Painting, 18” x 11”
Shortly after I got my MA, where my training was in various traditional media (carbon dust, pen and ink, air brush, etc.) computers first started to become another tool for making art.
“Big Horn Boys” Digital Painting, 24” x 16”
Today I employ both—primarily pencil, watercolor and acrylics for one, and Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop for the other. Sketches, journal notes and my photography from our time in “The Bob,” Yellowstone, and home are my references.
“Who Goes There” Graphite and Watercolor, 14” x 10”
The area around our home in the Bitterroot Mountains provides a number of ways to observe the effect of light on the landscape. Across the valley to the east are the Sapphire Mountains, where many mornings before sunrise the skies and clouds are bright with colorful alpenglow that is reflected back on our mountainside.
“River Rocks” Digital Painting, 14” x 10”
Through the breaks in our trees, I can watch the sun and weather cause the different features of the valley and Sapphires appear and disappear through the light and shade.
“Lena Peak Rudux” Digital Painting, 12” x 9”
Sometimes I will photograph a more spectacular sunrise for later reference, but most of the paintings I do of this vista are from observation or memory.
“Fall Alpenglow” Digital Painting, 14” x 10”
For the birds around our house, we have a feeder that rolls on a cable strung between our upstairs deck and the trees, which has provided years of opportunities for watching and photographing all its visitors.
“Rose Creek Summer” Acrylic on Canvas, 14” x 10”
Although we also have wildlife around the house, and a trail camera set up, our best viewing with prolonged time to observe their behaviors has been in Yellowstone. Even in winter, although the bears are asleep, the canids, wolves, coyotes and foxes are busy, as are the ungulates, and many birds. In spring all the animals are out and active, and its baby season.
“Backwater and Bear” Digital Painting, 14” x 10”
Along with my sketches and the many photographs I take, these observations are very important for creating realistic and behaviorally correct compositions whether for my traditional or digital media artwork.
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