“There is so much in the wilderness that is relative to life. It’s hard, messy, and wondrous, but strangely there is a perfect order to it all. Whether I am on the middle of a lake, floating down the river, climbing a mountain, or simply sitting on my front porch, reveling under the big sky, it all makes me think deeply. I find purpose and passion in the landscape; it is inherently who I am.”

So says Montana artist Brooke Wetzel, who adds that she and her family “live where the winters are hard, but the inspiration is endless. The cold keeps me in the studio, but when it’s nice, the rivers and mountains won’t stop calling. As a landscape artist, it’s the perfect place to be.”

As a child, Wetzel loved to watch her father sketch and to emulate his drawings in her self-made sketchbooks. She had no formal training, but studied art independently and was mentored by other artists.

Brooke Wetzel

Gladdened by Plenty
Oil
24″x30″

“Fresh-flowing water, green pasture, and the sun rising on a new day—it looked like heaven for those horses. Down by the water is my favorite place to be. This was painted from a memory of a special morning at the river.”

Brooke Wetzel

Missouri River Cruise
Oil
24″x36″

“I spent a couple days floating down the Missouri River last summer. The landscape is vast, the history is rich, and the slow, steady water and fishing is abundant. There is so much to paint about, but this is one of my favorite scenes.”