Montana landscape painter Stephen Rathburn

One can't spend much time in the beautiful Montana landscape without seeing a fly fisher or two.  It seems to be a great way to take in the Montana landscape.  Fly fishing is my favorite pastime!  I only wish I had more time to fish!  Painting this Montana landscape was just as enjoyable as actually fishing however!  The snow capped mountains in May really added to the majesty of the scene!  The day I did the sketches and took some photos, I had no time to fish. However I ran into a couple of out of state visitors that had not yet caught anything!  I usually catch quite a few fish up here but most of them are quite small. 

I painted this scene in my studio with mostly  a palette knife and used a limited palette of Paynes Grey, Ultramarine blue, Alizarine Crimson and Lemon Yellow.  Most Landscape artist use some sort of green but I find mixing my own gives me more flexibility and less paint tubes to carry or worry about.  Using a Limited palette has really been a rewarding experience!

Montana Artist

Stephen Rathburn