Every year the Festival at Sandpoint commissions an original piece to be created by a local artist. That piece is destined to become The Festival Poster. It’s kind of a big deal. First off, what’s a music festival without a sweet poster?
Moreover, the Festival at Sandpoint poster showcases an important community event.
Artists, while commissioned by the Festival, are appointed to their role by fellow artists, which makes the poster a part of the art community as much as it is a representation of The Festival. The chosen artist has full creative license. Completed original works are donated to The Festival and released publicly at a much-anticipated unveiling party.
Prints, in poster form, are sold to support the Festival. In the end, the original work goes to auction with proceeds benefitting The Festival.
If you visit The Festival website, (www.festivalatsandpoint.com and look for the Gallery link under More on the right-hand side of the menu), you can view a gallery of posters from years past. There is a richness of history in that sequence of images, a long standing tradition, individual expressions of over three decades of summers in Sandpoint.
Once you’ve taken time to appreciate past artwork, consider this year’s poster. It is an exceptional painting created by local artist Kathryn Weisberg, a Sandpoint resident. She is accomplished, well-traveled, and extremely talented.
Weisberg is a wildlife artist of 25 years and a conservationist. She is also a certified PADI divemaster.
Working for some time now as a professional artist, Weisberg prefers painting en plein air. That means, if I may be so loose with the translation, she paints in the spirit of North Idaho – outside, in the landscape, resonating with the motion and light nature. To quote her, Weisberg is inspired by “fresh air, wet paint and open space.”
Her contribution to The Festival, a painting entitled “The Sound of a Sandpoint Summer,” is an attempt to capture her love for the North Idaho landscape she paints so vividly while envisioning it from the perspective of a traveling musician. In this case, the musician seems to have been lured away from the practice space by the glimmer water of Lake Pend Oreille.
Take a moment to immerse yourself in Kathryn Weisberg’s interpretations of the outdoors. Visit her website, kathrynweisberg.com. From there you can view and purchase her work, sign up for her mailing list, or contact her directly. You can even enjoy her paintings in the comfort of Facebook, just search Paintings by Kathryn Weisberg.