Steamboat Magazine: What inspired “Scenes from the Valley” as the theme for this new show?

Ann Feldman: Well, I moved to Steamboat about four years ago but before that, I was in Chicago and I was what you’d call an indoor studio painter – doing a lot of still life and portrait work, that sort of thing. But when we moved to Steamboat, I decided that it was time to get out and paint landscapes. I put all of my painting supplies into a backpack, and my husband, John, and I would go out on hikes and just try to find all the beautiful spots around our area. I would plop down and just start painting wherever I was. Everywhere from Hahns Peak down to Sarvis Creek to Dumont Lake – I just wanted to see it all and get familiar with our area, and I felt the best way to do that was to paint it. Plein air painting has become a new passion of mine since moving to Steamboat. It was a very natural time to transition from indoor painting to outdoor painting. 

SM: Are these iconic Steamboat scenes people will immediately recognize, or more personal and lesser-known places?

AF: I would say it's probably a mix. There will be some that are instantly recognizable, and some are my friends' backyards, so they won’t be – but they’re still beautiful. I will be showing pieces that are everything from small sketches to finished paintings and everything in between. 

SM: What determines that for you? When will you take a painting all the way through?

AF: Sometimes I feel like the sketch is enough. It says what I want it to say, it tells the whole story. And sometimes I really want to delve into a thought and really understand it, and that usually happens with water scenes. Water on rocks. That is something that has become a big focus for me, to really familiarize myself with that. So I tend to take the water scenes a little further than the other paintings. But sometimes a sketch or a quick plein air painting is enough to capture a scene and I’m happy with it and I’ll just leave it there; I don’t feel like I have to take everything all the way. 

SM: What did you find to be the biggest challenge in painting familiar places people see every day?

AF: I think finding somebody who is patient enough to hike with me because I am not easy to hike with. Artists usually aren't. So what will happen is I’ll put all this gear on, I’ll get all of my painting supplies together, and I’ll go out onto a hiking trail and the first beautiful scene I see, I’ll stop and start painting it. My hiking partner will say, “Can we keep going?” and I’ll say, “No, I’m good!” So just finding people that are patient and willing to put up with me is probably my biggest challenge. 

SM: What do you hope longtime locals feel when they see this exhibition?

AF: I hope that it evokes feelings and memories in them, that they can relate to around our area. And maybe they’ll see something new or something that is very familiar to them. I share with them the love of this area and this is really just a celebration of that. 

SM: How has the local arts community shaped your own creative journey?

AF: Jill [Bergman] and I have been at The Alley now for about a year, and we have really enjoyed having people stop by and see us as we’re in our creative process. We really love to talk about it with people, and we love getting feedback from people, too. So, if I’m working on something, they’ll say, “Oh, I can really relate to that,” or “This brings back a memory,” or “I love the color.” It's a nice feedback loop that we don’t get when we’re working all on our own. Being at The Alley has been a great give and take with locals and with visitors as well.

"Scenes from the Valley" will open on Friday, May 1 at The Alley Gallery & Art Studios in downtown Steamboat Springs.