Bozeman Magazine

At the July Art Walk, Altitude Gallery will present the paintings of Montana native and resident Alissa Durling. Alissa grew up surrounded and nurtured by the spectacular vistas of the Bitterroot Valley. Her work is still strongly influenced by her home in the Rocky Mountain West yet filtered through her unique perspective and technique, finely honed at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland. Rendered in vivid acrylic paint on canvas, Alissa’s paintings have a singularly graphic quality. Sharp, clean lines meet soft, flowing washes of pigment creating a strikingly abstracted yet instantly recognizable representation of the landscapes that surround and inspire her. She pares down the view before her into deceptively simple blocky shapes and lines, filling the spaces between with fluid swathes of color and shadow. By leaving only what is most important, she captures the essence of the landscape she observes and instills in the viewer a sense of childlike wonder and curiosity. Alissa has returned to her roots and currently resides in Corvallis, MT with her young family. She will be doing a live painting demonstration during the Art Walk from 6-8pm.