If the legendarily big Montana skies look just a little bit bigger in Josh Elliott’s paintings than in real life, that’s by design. “Recently, I’ve been giving myself a little more freedom to interpret, rather than being a strict slave to reality,” says Elliott, whose vivid landscapes depict national parks and other scenic areas.

“That would involve changing colors up a little bit. I’m giving myself the freedom to say, ‘This I think would make a better painting.’ That comes with knowledge and years of painting. I’ve fought such a hard fight to stray from reality, but it’s more rewarding, I think, and more exciting. That’s how your individual personality, or individual idea, comes through. Even though I embellish, I want it to feel like it is real. I delete certain things, or add in or take out, but they’re all places I’ve actually been to.”

Josh Elliot (Montana)

Present Echoes Past
Oil
32″x35″

“I am fascinated by the two cultures that called, and call, Canyon de Chelly home: the Anasazi before and the Navajo now. Both cultures used the canyon for sustenance, and both utilized local materials to build their dwellings. The Navajo have a lot of sayings about beauty, so appreciation of beauty is in their culture. The decoration of pots by the ancient Anasazi show their appreciation of beauty. Getting along in this world and appreciating beauty are two common threads throughout human existence. We all are echoes of the past.”

Josh Elliot (Montana)

Night Pasture
Oil
24″x40″

“I was really struck by the sweep of this receding ‘pasture glacier,’ deposited by blowing snow and now melting from a March Chinook, so I took advantage of the opportunity it provided for a strong design.”