Landscape artist finds niche online amid pandemic
Artist Mark Ogle works on a plein air painting of the Porter/Blasdel Barn along North Somers Road on Thursday, June 18. Ogle, the owner of Mark Ogle Studio in Kalispell, is one of 52 artists creating works for the Hockaday Museum of Art's Plein Air Glacier 2020: Paint Out. The resulting artwork will be sold during an online auction from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 27. A selection of works will be on view at the museum and a preview is available on the Hockaday's website at hockadaymuseum.org. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
When it comes to solitary, socially distanced pastimes, nature painting is an ideal activity. But artists like Mark Ogle are still contending with an array of unprecedented challenges as their peaceful pursuit — like just about every other occupation — has been disrupted by the wide-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It hasn’t affected my lifestyle one little bit,” Ogle was happy to report. The local artist, famous for his landscape paintings of Glacier National Park, said he normally paints alone in remote, outdoor locales. Keeping his distance from other outdoors enthusiasts is already part of the job.
In the past, Ogle has occasionally met up with colleagues to paint together in the park or other scenic spots, but he said this social component of his creative process is “definitely not necessary.”
It’s the sales side of the business where artists like Ogle are feeling the effects of the virus outbreak.
From March to June, Ogle said he had absolutely no walk-in traffic to his art gallery on Second Avenue West in Kalispell.
“It’s pretty dead,” Ogle observed. He recognized that his studio, situated a few blocks west of Kalispell’s Main Street, isn’t a bustling destination for foot traffic even during normal circumstances. But he explained tourists always make up a significant portion of his sales.
Creative as ever, Ogle has endeavored to find alternatives to keep his studio afloat. Ogle sells his paintings nationwide and he has expanded his online sales in recent months.
He reported his website has become pretty busy since the virus outbreak started sweeping the country, especially as art lovers are staying home, sprucing up their spaces or noticing blank spots on their walls.
“That’s what’s kept me going,” Ogle said.
He was optimistic that in-person traffic would increase with Glacier National Park’s opening. Like most local entrepreneurs, Ogle said the bulk of his business shows up after the legendary Going-to-the-Sun Road opens each year.
“The Sun Road is really critical to this valley,” he noted.
Opening the road also gives him a chance to get back to his source material, although the season-long closure of the East Glacier park entrances will keep him out of his favorite spots — particularly the Many Glacier area — this summer.
Despite these obstacles, Ogle doesn’t have any plans on giving up on painting, although he admitted he might feel differently if he were in an earlier stage of his career.
“I don’t intend on quitting,” promised Ogle, who has worked in his Kalispell studio since the 1980s. He acknowledged he might have a different outlook, however, “If I was a young artist just getting started.”
It’s notoriously tough to make a living as an artist, Ogle pointed out, especially during a pandemic.
“It’s affected the arts,” he lamented. “Art’s the last thing people need.”
Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at (406)-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.