Jeff Montagne

I was born in Mountain View, California in 1973. As a child growing up in the military I lived in several cities throughout California as well as in Japan. However, most of my childhood was spent in Mountain View. In 1994 I moved to Sacramento, where I started pursuing my career. My education consists of being self taught, experimenting with different techniques through books and trying new ideas with several types of media.

I have been commissioned for multiple projects from tattoos, murals, and peices of work. In November, 2008 I was selected as artist of the month for Artistic Edge out of Sacramento, Ca. which several pieces were purchased. Through the years I have used several types of media and each has its own purpose. Pastels, chalk, and oil work best for landscapes and seascapes. Pens which consists of brush, fine tip, and ink are best for detail in color for wildlife. Charcoal, black and white, are perfect media for shading and lighting. Now my preferred media is graphite pencil, it works best for detail, and also allows me to have the most control. I have also learned to work with color pencil which is for light color and depth. Watercolor pencil has been used for color wash in background as in "Mingo" and "Goldy". Always learning to use new techniques and methods with multiple media is important.

As the years went on the areas that appealed to me were wildlife, land and seascapes, and an occasional still life. With my subject areas, it is challenging and always changing. It takes a patient creative mind, requires detail, and most important, it is relaxing and fun. My inspiration are my daughters Linsey, Karli, Kelsi, and Leilani. They like to see me complete each piece and it allows me to teach them what techniques I have learned. It also gives me the time to spend with them and to teach them to be creative and to use their imagination.

ARTIST STATEMENT:
Putting myself in touch with wildlife comes easy to me. There are times that I can feel what the animal feels, and think what the animal thinks, which is how I get my ideas from mind onto paper. I have a respect for wildlife that creates a passion in my work, which I believe is evident in every piece.

My materials are not fancy. I use simple graphite pencils, archival ink, oil and chalk pastels. I feel sometimes the simplicity of a piece makes the biggest impact. I’ve been featuring wildlife in my work for about ten years, which has given me time to really reach behind the physical and look inside, behind the eyes, and give each piece a soul and personality of its own. For me, its not about the work; its about attaching feeling to each piece. I think I’ve accomplished that.