Hand-carved, hand-painted and hand-printed: Whitefish artist captures life scenes
Tarek Penser, of Tarek's Prints, holds a framed sheet of handcarved linoleum on the left, which is the stamp that made the print on the right. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
Tarek Penser, of Tarek's Prints, prepares to transfer a print of Blackstar Bar in Whitefish. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
Tarek Penser's print of a Whitefish bar. (Courtesy image)
A digitized print of Going-to-the-Sun Mountain by Tarek Penser of Tarek's Prints. (Courtesy image)
A digitized print of Mount Clements by Tarek Penser of Tarek's Prints. (Courtesy image)
Tarek Penser's print of a Whitefish bar. (Courtesy image)
Tarek Penser, of Tarek's Prints, is currently working on a series of prints huighlighting bars in the Flathead Valley. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
Tarek Penser has a tattoo of a gauge, the tool he uses to carve into the lineolum while making prints. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
Tarek Penser looks through his studio for previously handcrafted linoleum stamps. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
Tarek Penser, of Tarek's Prints, carves handmade stamps to make prints that highlight Motana's nature. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
Tarek Penser puts oil based ink on his handcrafted linoleum stamp to make a print. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
Examples of Tarek Penser's art grade linoleum handcarved stamps that he uses to make prints locally in Whitefish. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
A completed print, signed as a part of a series, at Tarek Penser's home. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
Tarek Penser transfers his handcrafted stamp image to paper, creating a print. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
A series of prints by Tarek Penser in his Whitefish home. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Kate Heston
Four years ago, Tarek Penser spent December meticulously carving three sheets of linoleum as a Christmas gift for his wife Andrea.
Used for printmaking, he carved three scenes to press onto paper. The first features the slopes of Big Mountain as viewed from Whitefish. The second is a lighthouse off the coast of Maine, Andrea’s home state. The third is a castle in Örebro, Penser’s hometown in Sweden, where he spent most of his life.
Four years and hundreds more sheets of linoleum later, Penser’s creative outlet has become his livelihood, a way to hand-create the iconic scenes of Northwest Montana.
Penser, born in London, moved to Sweden at the age of 3 with his parents, who met in London when his mother was studying abroad. His mom, originally from the Midwest, spent a few summers in college working in and around Glacier National Park, a park that has offered a constant throughout Penser’s life.
Growing up, every other year, Penser’s family would come to the United States to visit family in Minnesota. The trip always included a road trip to Northwest Montana — a place he has consistently been drawn to. Two days after he graduated high school, Penser moved to Many Glacier to work a summer job. He returned every summer thereafter, through both his undergraduate degree and master's degree. He met his wife, Andrea, one of those summers.
In Stockholm, Penser got his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering in a special design program. He graduated in 2017, traveled for a year, and went back to the same school and got his master's in industrial design engineering.
Art wasn’t always Penser’s main niche, although it has always been a part of his life. From his aunt, a local artist, to his mom and his family’s friends, Penser grew up around a creative spirit.
“I always found engineering very creative, but I mainly picked up art the summer before getting back to my master's. I decided I wanted to be better about sketching, and I thought it would be a way to become a better engineer and product designer,” he said.
Penser first picked up a gauge, the tool he uses to carve the linoleum, at the beginning of the pandemic at his parent’s house in Sweden thanks to a school prompt to “try something new.”
“I just picked it up and really fell in love with the process. It feels like it kind of combines some engineering process and you have really have to be meticulous,” he said.
The first time he really put effort into a print was Andrea’s Christmas present later that year. From there, the passion — and collection — has grown. Up until recently, he maintained an engineering job while printmaking on the side.
After graduating school, Penser worked in Sweden as a product designer for an electric motorcycle company and most recently for Nomad GCS in Kalispell. As of 2023, Penser has been creating prints full-time.
THE PROCESS begins with a sheet of art-grade linoleum. Penser draws his design, often a mix of flowers, mountains, trees or buildings, onto the sheet before carefully carving each detail out so the resulting image looks like a stamp.
When he’s done carving, he takes oil-based ink and rolls the ink onto the linoleum. Before gently placing a piece of paper over the top of it. With a metal spoon, he gently rubs the cotton paper on top of the stamp to help transfer the image. It isn’t always perfect but each originally stamped image, although part of a series, is unique.
He sells the original prints, numbered and signed, as well as digital prints. Sometimes he will watercolor over the prints to add dimension and color to the flowers, mountains or other scenes. He is currently working on a series of prints showcasing various bars in Whitefish, as well as the views of National Parks across the country.
Penser hopes to one day do more residencies in National Parks, cities or other places he is interested in drawing as he continues to create, carve and print.
When Penser and his wife permanently moved to Whitefish after graduating, he thought the market for his art would be primarily with tourists, but it’s been purchased by locals also.
From art markets to art galleries to Spotted Bear Spirits, Penser’s work is available for purchase across the valley and online at www.tareksprints.com.
“There’s enough people that are excited about locally made art and are willing to support small businesses locally is probably one of the cooler parts of this all,” he said.
By mainly creating natural scenes, Penser hopes his work will possibly inspire conversations about conservation.
Standing in his Whitefish house, Penser pointed toward his first three pieces for Andrea, a showcase of places. While he has perfected the design since then, the originals hang among more art and memories, all part of an ongoing journey.
Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or kheston@dailyinterlake.com.
A digitized print of Going-to-the-Sun Mountain by Tarek Penser of Tarek's Prints. (Courtesy image)
A digitized print of Mount Clements by Tarek Penser of Tarek's Prints. (Courtesy image)
Tarek Penser's print of a Whitefish bar. (Courtesy image)
Tarek Penser, of Tarek's Prints, prepares to transfer a print of Blackstar Bar in Whitefish. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)Kate Heston
Tarek Penser, of Tarek's Prints, is currently working on a series of prints highlighting bars in the Flathead Valley. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)Kate Heston
Tarek Penser has a tattoo of a gauge, the tool he uses to carve into the linoleum while making prints. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)Kate Heston
Tarek Penser looks through his studio for previously handcrafted linoleum stamps. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)Kate Heston
Tarek Penser, of Tarek's Prints, carves handmade stamps to make prints that highlight Motana's nature. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)Kate Heston
Tarek Penser puts oil-based ink on his handcrafted linoleum stamp to make a print. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)Kate Heston
Examples of Tarek Penser's art grade linoleum hand-carved stamps that he uses to make prints locally in Whitefish. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)Kate Heston
A completed print, signed as a part of a series, at Tarek Penser's home. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)Kate Heston
Tarek Penser transfers his handcrafted stamp image to paper, creating a print. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)Kate Heston
A series of prints by Tarek Penser in his Whitefish home. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)Kate Heston