Collecting Rocky Mountain Color

Collecting Rocky Mountain Color Local Paint Shop Owner No, Keller was far from the hues of wildflowers Creates Paint Palette shop, exploring the Rocky and lichen, taken separately, Celebrating Outdoors Mountains. A Montana boy, awed him. Fall leaves offered If the saying is true, there’s nothing new under the sun, then there are no new paint colors, either. But there are new paint collections. A local paint shop owner, Jeff Keller, has discovered and curated one of those new collections. Owner of The Paint Factory in Bozeman and handy with a paintbrush since age 13, Keller has finally had his color breakthrough. But it didn’t happen in the store, during the workday. He wasn’t glancing at paint Keller grew up loving to explore the treasures found under the Big Sky. That theme continued into adulthood. In the moments he wasn’t working, Keller was traipsing around the state, appreciating Montana’s awe-inspiring colors. And inspire they did. “I worked with a local horticulturist,” Keller explains. “He opened my eyes with how to see color. Nature is overwhelming, but when you take one item, solo, it helps you see colors.” their own palette of rich tones. Eventually, Keller separated his treasure into five distinct categories: soil, leaves, flowers, rocks, and natural grasses. He carefully pressed flower and leaf samples and put soil in clear, labeled swatches one day when Keller started noticing the he drummed up his deep rust colors in different new collection. soil samples he collecte. The

containers, with the location where the samples were found. The pressed items were turned into captivating works of art by local photographer Roper Green. Keller framed many of the flowers to hang in his paint shop. Others have been displayed in art galleries and brewery walls. From his wild findings, Keller also found inspiration for his paint collection. He culled his thousands upon thousands of samples into a collection of 460 paint colors. Each color in the collection represents a piece of the Rocky Mountain corridor, a colorful invitation to fall in love with the forest floor, mountain scree, flower fields and silty soil of the ecosystem. “It doesn’t reinvent color; it defines Rocky Mountain colors,” Keller explains. “There are no new colors. I’m not a color expert like a designer, I’m a 43-year paint industry guy. I’m an observer, not an expert.” An observer might just be what the paint world needs. Keller’s collection is attracting big attention already. In November, a preeminent color trend and forecasting magazine will devote one of its two gorgeous feature stories to Keller’s collection. After the article runs, Keller expects well-painted doors to swing open for him. But he’s not braggadocios. In fact, Keller has already faced rejection. Benjamin Moore, whose paint Keller sells and whose reps Keller has known for decades, passed on licensing his collection for mass distribution. It was a letdown, certainly. For Keller though, one more no means he’s closer to a yes. And “yes” means his Rocky Mountain color collection can be shared far and wide. For now though, Keller’s collection is available through his store. He urges designers, architects or other paint lovers interested in his story to stop by, pull up a chair, and have a look at his collection. At the store, Keller displays prints of his pressed flowers on the walls. He’s also got colors from his collection neatly displayed by hue. A meticulously organized legend guides the shopper from Keller’s Collection to its in-store match (from an existing paint that The Paint Factory carries). It’s in the store, under the shadow of massive

framed flowers, and shelves of large rock samples, that the collection comes alive. “It’s a color story,” Keller says. “That’s all it is.” That color story, Keller hopes, will remind so many others of their favorite outdoor memories, in the Rocky Mountains and far beyond. **More information about this project can be found at kellercollection.com

ProfessionalService WideSelection PricestoFitAnyBudget ExpertColorMatching LocallyOwned –ALSO–HOMEOFTHE

Stopinorgoonlinetocheckouttheartprints: www.kellercollection.com