Sketches from abroad
A collection of oil sketches recently made by Richie Carter.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A new oil sketch from Venice by Richie Carter.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A new watercolor sketch of Venice.
A new watercolor sketch of London by Richie Carter.
A new watercolor sketch of Paris.
A new watercolor sketch from Paris by Richie Carter.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A new watercolor sketch from Venice by Richie Carter.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
A watercolor sketch of Italy from Richie Carter’s semester abroad with Flathead Valley Community College in 2014.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Artist Richie Carter, 28, at his home north of Kalispell on Tuesday. (Brenda Ahearn photos/Daily Inter Lake)
In the life of an artist there are themes that recur. For Flathead artist Richie Carter one of those themes is Western Europe.
Carter, 28, has just returned to Montana from his seventh trip to Europe. He went on a three-week trek that included time in Venice, London and Paris, where he did multiple watercolor and oil sketches.
Carter spent a year living in France in 2010 as an exchange student through the University of Montana.
“When I’m over there I feel like I’m at home. I’m comfortable,” Carter said. “Even though here feels the same because I’ve laid down roots in both places.”
For Carter, the real connection is not the food or the architecture, both of which he loves, but rather the people he’s met and the friends he has made in his travels.
“Everywhere I go in Europe I’m just so inspired,” Carter said. “I feel like I could paint anywhere.”
But there is more to it than that. Carter said that he loves the way people live in Europe. He also said he has never felt unsafe in his travels. Recently a string of terrorist attacks in Europe have made national news. When asked whether or not recent events have changed his opinion of traveling abroad, he said no.
“I don’t want to be controlled,” Carter said. “I’m not going to live my life in fear.”
Carter has a deep love for his Montana roots and does not want to give up his home in the Flathead, but ideally he said he would like to spend part of each year living in Europe. He has many sketches from the most recent trip to draw from and will be sharing them as well as some of his recent work at the Whitefish Gallery Nights art walk event at Frame of Reference in Whitefish on Aug. 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. Carter will also be the featured artist for the month at the gallery, located at 235 Central Ave.
The monthly Whitefish Gallery Night events are free and open to the public.