Paul Waldum developed an appreciation for nature as a young boy while he hiked and climbed the mountains near his home of Livingston, Montana. The memories of those adventures, he recalls, left lasting sketches on his mind. “Nature’s elements,” he describes, “are driving forces in producing my artwork.” As a young boy, Waldum had a passion for drawing and painting. When he was fourteen, he won his first painting award. The prize was a set of oil paints. While attending high school he had his first one man exhibition which was arranged through the encouragement of his art instructor. After high school, he received his formal art training and degree from Montana State University. During the years at MSU, he developed a unique style for serigraphy printing and soon his serigraph images of the western landscape appeared in major galleries in Jackson, Wyoming; Scottsdale, Arizona; New York City; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Today, Waldum devotes most of his time to painting with pastels and oils. He states, “I like the opportunity to work out in the field, creating images that are fresh and have a direct tie between the environment and the canvas or paper.”
Many of my larger studio paintings are painted from field studies and may be recognized by their geographical location or landmarks. Others are created from memory and imagination. My paintings are derived from innumerable experiences while patiently observing and studying the landscapes constantly changing moods. Its light...a pink glow, a misty morning, dusk, dawn, and the seasons are illuminated in my images. Hopefully, these images allow the viewer to be drawn into the painting, creating a feeling of peacefulness and tranquility. It is gratifying for me to capture moments of nature as an art piece.”
Waldum’s paintings have appeared at the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale Invitational in Cody, Wyoming; the Yellowstone Art Museum Invitational, Billings, Montana; the Nicolaysen Art Museum Invitational, Casper, Wyoming; the Bradford Brinton Memorial and Museum, Big Horn, Wyoming; the Hockaday Museum Invitational, Kalispell, Montana; and Settlers West Miniature Show, Tucson, Arizona. His paintings are in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the United States, Europe, and Alberta, Canada. Waldum has been grateful to those that inspired him to pursue his art as a career. He has dedicated much of his adult life teaching art to all levels of education. Currently, he resides with his wife and two children in northeast Wyoming.