Dalas W. Klein

Biography

Born in Eads Colorado in 1950 and living on a cattle ranch, the great outdoors was an early influence. My family moved to Bonners Ferry, Idaho, northwest of the Rocky Mountains and thirty miles south of Canada. It was a dramatic geographical change, from flat plains to high mountains, valleys and plateaus. This area was carved ten thousand years ago by the Glacial Lake Missoula Floods, covering four states, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

I started drawing at age six, Cowboy and Indian confrontations, and at age twelve produced my first realism in pastel. From that time on art would be in my life. I studied art in High School and became interested in watercolors. For four years I was influenced by my art instructor Tom Sander who is now an Internationally known Wildlife artist.

I chose a career as an Ironworker, traveled the U.S. and a few foreign countries making a living. Art took a back seat until 2003 when I began painting full-time. After painting with watercolors for forty years I now have added oils and acrylics. I paint wildlife, landscapes, western and still-life, mostly of the area that surrounds me. They are contemporary realism sometimes leaning towards impressionism and abstract.

Artist Statement

Everyone is searching in life for one thing or another, some find it and some never do. From the age of eighteen I have always known my destiny. It just took a while to get there. I love what God has created for us to view and paint. The secret is to stop and look at it. I am fortunate to be able to put on canvas and preserve it for others to view. That is the communication of art. My best work is always the next painting and the next and next and next.

Recent Shows/Galleries

Exhibited at venues around the United States, for example, the C.M. Russell show, Great Falls, Montana; Good Conscience Gallery, Southampton, New York; International Small Works North America show in Fairfield, Connecticut sponsored by The Greenwich Workshop Gallery; Timberstand Gallery, Sandpoint, Idaho; Angel Gallery, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Redtail Gallery,One Man Show, Sandpoint, Idaho, June 2008.