Polson artist’s nature-inspired work featured at Phillips Gallery

Meet Polson artist Stephanie Funke Sweeten and view her nature-inspired exhibit, Drawn into Wildlife, Jan. 10 at Phillips Gallery. 

This exhibit takes on a particularly personal note for the artist, dedicating it to her mother, Patricia Funke, who influenced her love of animals and encouraged her to pursue her artistic dreams.  

While planning the exhibit more than two years ago, Funke Sweeten started a mountain lion painting while caring for her mother. A week after starting the painting, her mother died. It took the artist two years to find the courage to finish the piece. When she did, Funke Sweeten said she felt her mother was influencing her eye and the touch of her brush to the canvas, a cathartic experience that helped her say goodbye. Along with the exhibit, Funke Sweeten dedicates the piece, “Silent Snow,” to her mother. 

Born in Polson and raised on a working cattle ranch on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Funke Sweeten grew up on the backs of horses riding around her home. Surrounded by domestic animals and abundant wildlife, the self-taught artist was inspired to paint and study animals at a very early age. After living throughout the U.S. as the spouse of a Naval officer, she has returned to the Flathead Valley to pursue her passion of creating wildlife art. 

The public is invited to attend the opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. with an artist talk starting at 5:30 p.m. The exhibit will remain on display at Phillips Gallery until Feb. 1. The gallery is located inside the Kalispell Center Mall, 20 N Main Street.