Allen Jimmerson's wild art

Allen Jimmerson, a soft-spoken Montanan in jeans and a well-worn navy shirt, points to the small painting in the corner.

It’s not displayed in any real way, propped up behind his desk and covered with a thin plastic sheet. It’s a landscape, like many of Jimmerson’s works, and looks beautifully and deliberately crafted. It has all the feel of a professional work of art.

“I still have my first painting that I did right there,” Jimmerson says, gesturing to the yellow landscape propped behind his desk. “That’s the very first painting I did with my new set of oils when I was 15.”

Jimmerson, a Columbia Falls native and the featured artist at the newly remodeled Montana Wildlife Studio above Snappy Sport Senter, hasn’t stopped painting since.

SATURDAY WAS a big day for Jimmerson. It was the grand unveiling of his studio following a remodel about a year in the making. The space available to display his art had doubled and he had recruited three other artists — painter Robin Sorg and sculptors Tina Milisavljevich and Sunti Pichetchaiyakul — to join him in the first opening in the 15 years he had been showing his work in the space.

Expecting 40-50 people to show up, friends and admirers from throughout the Northwest poured in, jamming the parking lot and nearly moving Jimmerson to tears.

It was a big day for those who admired and supported him, too.

“I am so proud of him,” Pichetchaiyakul said. “He’s a superstar in Montana now.”

Approximately 150 people were at the opening, which included a performance from the Glacier Symphony’s string quartet.

“I was so touched,” Jimmerson said. “One couple came from Clarkston, Washington, another came from Kimberley, Canada, just for this.

“An old friend I hadn’t seen in six years … she surprised me. That was very touching.”

For Jimmerson, however, being able to display the works of three local artists he admired was just as important. The new expansion to his gallery allowed him to bring in works from the others for the first time.

“We’re all so different so we’re complementing each other,” Jimmerson said. “I’ve heard the word compete once in a while and to me that’s not even a word I’d use. It’s all to complement each other and help each other out.

“I wanted something different in so I asked Robin if she would join us and I was honored that she did,” he continued. “And Sunti brought his best bronze for our gallery and he’s just brought in two more. He’s world-famous. He’s a very, very humble person but he’s known all over the world, and the other artist is Tina, and she brought her artwork in about a week ago and when I saw it that’s just what I was wanting, another type of artwork that is so different than anything else and people love it.”

THE SUNTI World Art Gallery in Whitefish is run by Pichetchaiyakul and his wife, Erica, and features Pichetchaiyakul’s bronze sculptures along with other works from all over the world. There is but one other local artist displayed: Allen Jimmerson.

“We met Allen right back when we first arrived in Montana, back in 2008,” Erica Pichetchaiyakul said. “He’s become such a good friend of ours. He’s such a sweet guy and he’s very talented. We’re proud of represent him.

“What I think is so remarkable about Allen is he’s not only preserving the beauty of Glacier (National) Park but preserving wildlife by these auctions,” she added. “There are so many organizations that he’ll participate in the auctions for. A lot of artists won’t bother because they’ll lose their percentage. Allen’s always up for it.”

Jimmerson grew up in the shadows of the park and has had a life-long love affair with it and its non-human inhabitants. He estimates 90 percent of his work is inspired by Glacier, and in addition to landscapes his paintings include dozens of animals — bears, deer, elk and much more.

He does much of his painting right in the studio at Snappy’s and his next subject, a moose, is waiting (in a photograph) beside his easel.

“Accidentally come around the corner and there he was, 20 yards from me,” Jimmerson said of the moose. “I had another artist with me and she told me, ‘Allen, you better back up’ and I looked at him and he knew I was there but, you know, you never know what a bull moose is going to do.

“I took my camera and got a picture before I started backing up, and he picked his head up and he blew air at me,” he continued. “He was telling me, ‘back up’ and I knew right then, ‘yeah, I’ll do what you tell me to do. You’re way bigger than I am.’”

The park has featured Jimmerson’s work frequently, including during the park service’s centennial celebration, and his biography at his studio lists nine different wildlife-centric foundations that have been the beneficiary of works Jimmerson has sold at auction.

Jimmerson’s paintings are finely detailed, and his friend, Sunti Pichetchaiyakul, sees even more in his work.

“Allen’s paintings almost represent his inner beauty,” he said. “He has these beautiful pastels and you can see Allen through his paintings. They’re not just generic paintings. They’re very different in style and express a lot of who Allen is. It’s like his life in his painting.”

JIMMERSON’S STUDIO at Snappy’s, 1400 U.S. 2 E. in Evergreen, is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More information on Jimmerson and samples of his work can be found at www.allenjimmerson.com.