Helena artist finds abstract beauty in literal landscapes

Jim Poor believes there are many different kinds of intelligence. He just feels lucky that he was able to find his own and follow it.

“I always say, there isn’t a human being who isn’t expressive,” says Poor, who has been quietly making paintings in his downtown Helena studio for nearly 20 years now.

A longtime art teacher and administrator, Poor grew up in Great Falls, where he learned by heart the shapes and lines of the grain elevators and crop patterns that would later populate his canvases.

There were several pharmacists in Poor’s family and he was encouraged to follow suit, but after a few college level science classes he says “it was not meant to be.”

The art classes he took, on the other hand, were “the beginning of a world that has continued,” says Poor.

In the public school system, Poor became a teacher and then an administrator, where he encouraged his fellow art instructors to tend to their own creativity in addition to their students’.

Upon retirement, Poor set up shop in Helena and began painting full time.

“I think I was ready for it,” says Poor, who clearly loved teaching but always thought of himself as an artist first.

Over the years, Poor’s work has been part of many local exhibitions at the Holter Museum of Art and other galleries. In February 2009, Poor is set to have a retrospective of his work at Paris Gibson Square in Great Falls.

At first glance, the artist’s large, colorful canvases seem purely abstract, so it’s a surprise to hear that one is inspired by Going to the Sun Road or driving into Yellowstone in autumn.

“I think of myself as a landscape painter,” explains Poor, who also paints realistic landscapes, mostly as a way to gather information.

When he studies those landscapes, Poor sees their basic colors and elements, which he uses to create “layers of gestures” in his abstract renderings.

“Those are structures in a very kind of wild, gestural painting,” says Poor, as he points out shapes and patterns on one particular canvas. “It’s perhaps seeing things in a different light.”

Even if they don’t consciously make the connection, Poor believes viewers recognize those familiar elements and understand the “common beauty” connecting the literal landscape with his abstract expression.

Although his paintings share a unique style, the body of work Poor will show in his upcoming retrospective embraces a huge variety. Poor says that this is probably because he’s often trying new techniques and looking to artists he admires for ideas.

“When you’re teaching, of course you teach everything,” says Poor, who inspires himself the same way a teacher would look for new ways to motivate students.

For him, painting is a joyful experience and he is still excited by its possibilities, which he dutifully attends to in his studio most days.

“Can you imagine coming here every day and doing this?” says Poor. “Everywhere I go I see shapes and forms and beauty.”

The Jim Poor studio is located at 301 N. Park Ave. Call 443-7944 for information.