I grew up in Montana but had never been to the Flathead Reservation before I started my first job as a wildland firefighter out of CSKT Forestry. I remember how the Mission Mountains and my first viewing of them coming up over Ravalli Hill by the Bison Range absolutely stupefied me, and continues to astound me to this day. 

A few years later when I lived in Polson, I would drive by the Mission Mountain Range everyday to get to work and try my best to take in the view while still keeping my eyes on the road. I paid particular attention to Sheep’s Head, as it is one of my favorites and oddly enough, I would regularly dream that I was hiking to a very specific area on Sheep’s Head, even though I have never been there. 

“Sheeps Head” includes what I call a “time stamp” in the sky above it. This means that the gold stars I added above Sheep’s Head are the same constellations that were above the Mission Mountains at the time I completed the painting. The constellations are, for lack of a better word, smooshed together to fit on the mountain. 

To me “Sheep’s Head” is a way to preserve the memory of that time period in my life when as a young adult almost everything felt fresh, new, and astounding while at the same time acknowledging that land itself deserves to be valued, honored, and esteemed. 

Sheep’s Head is available at the Radius Gallery.