From white to black to vibrant color: Charles Fulcher displays paintings at Zoot      Back to Articles
February 03, 2007
By CAMDEN EASTERLING, Chronicle Staff Writer

For Great Falls painter Charles Fulcher, finding his signature style meant taking the path of a nonconformist.

Most painters start with a white canvas, then add color.
But not Fulcher -- his initial canvas is black.

"I just decided to rebel," he said.

Fulcher, whose works are on display at Zoot Enterprises, Inc., in Four Corners now through March 2, tried the traditional method of using a white slate when he started painting four years ago.

"Something just wasn't working for me," Fulcher, a longtime graphic artist, said.

Then he happened upon a jar of black gesso, a primer that can be used to keep paint from soaking into a surface. The substance triggered the idea to start with black as a background.

"Sometimes if you're struggling," Fulcher, 47, said, "it's good to just turn it around, know what I mean? Just do the exact opposite."

The result?

"Once I embraced that, ah, I was back to being a happy guy," he said.

Fulcher's oil paintings are not, however, dark, somber or lacking in color.

"I was just blown away (by) these bright, vibrant colors," Karen Halverson, Zoot's marketing coordinator, said of viewing Fulcher's works.

On many of his paintings, Fulcher doesn't leave large swaths of black but rather lets the black canvas peek through as an outline around images.

The outlines make Fulcher's already bright colors truly pop.

In "Fallen Leaves," Fulcher's brush strokes look like piles of brilliant autumnal foliage. Black spots break up the splotches of red and gold, heightening the impact of the colors.

"I don't know of any other artist who leaves a black background," Curtis Tierney said. Tierney Fine Art, a Bozeman gallery, represents Fulcher in this area. "The thing which is so striking about his work is his style is so fresh and different," Tierney said.

The painter describes his styles as expressionistic, which allows him to take some liberties with colors, shapes and other painting components.

For instance, Fulcher often paints en plein air -- which involves working outside and painting aspects of the natural environment, such as the effects of sunlight.

Translating precisely what nature offers right to the canvas, though, isn't his style.

"That's the job of the camera," he said, "not the job of the painter."

Fulcher will paint the scenes he sees, but changes things as he sees fit.

"If I want that thing to be orange," he said, laughing, I'm going to make it orange."

Fulcher has more than 30 works on display at Zoot, a company that does instant credit applications for customers across the country.

Zoot might seem like an odd place to find a gallery, but the company is committed to fostering art in the community and helping artists, workers said.

"Anything that Zoot can do as a company to encourage the art community is worthwhile," Chris Nelson, Zoot's founder and CEO, said in a prepared statement.

Zoot's gallery, on the second floor, at the top of the staircase in the lobby, has large windows that let in plenty of natural light and is outfitted with museum-grade hanging.

"The space, I think, is one of the finest spaces for displaying artwork in Montana," Tierney said.

Fulcher will be at Zoot Friday to mark the official opening of the display with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be available.

A portion of the art sales proceeds go to Bozeman's Eagle Mount, which provides therapeutic and recreational activities for people with cancer or disabilities.

The gallery is open free to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, excluding bank holidays when the gallery is closed.

To get to Zoot, head west on Huffine Lane. Shortly past Four Corners, turn right on Zoot Way, then left on Zoot Enterprise Lane.

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