Hi-Line Living: Back to the beginning with art

From a career in law enforcement to becoming a full time artist, Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation resident Theodore Koop said his love for art has always been a constant throughout his life.

Koop, this month's featured artist at Artitudes Gallery in The Atrium, said his love for art really blossomed when he was a freshman in high school. His art teacher and friend, Tom Marinkovich, played a large role in his artistic pursuits. He said his family is also artistic, adding he remembers his father used to do some artistic things when he was younger, but never shared his work. It being a personal thing for him.

Koop said he always was interested in art, finger drawing and doing artistic things, but Marinkovich was who really pushed him to pursue his talent.

Koop said that when he was a freshman, it was Marinkovich's first year teaching at Box Elder Schools.

"He really opened my eyes to all the different mediums of art," Koop said.

He added that the art class was originally in a small single room, but Marinkovich grew the department into what it is. Koop said that, in his opinion, Marinkovich made Box Elder's art program into one of the finest in all of Montana, and one of the best west of the Mississippi River. In Marinkovich's class, Koop learned how to do pottery, stained glass, sand blasting and knife making, as well as a number of other artistic mediums. 

He added that, over the years, he and his former art teacher have become very close friends, with Koop visiting him on a regular basis. He added that, because of his teacher, he always wanted to become an art teacher, but his life went in another direction.

"I had a lot of jobs, but I always wanted to be an art teacher, though," he said. "But it just never happened.

Many jobs before becoming artist

After high school, Koop became a forest land firefighter during the summers and would trap during the winters. A few years later, he enlisted in the military and at the end of his service left with an honorable discharge. He then decided to pursue a career in law enforcement, getting a job on Rocky Boy as a dispatcher and jailer for a number of years before becoming a police officer for Rocky Boy Police Department.

"I've done a lot of stuff in law enforcement that some people would probably shake their heads and say, 'Why did you do that,'" he said.

For example, while he was a police officer he and his partner were patrolling in the Box Elder area when they encountered a suspicious man on the side of the road who was putting gas into his vehicle, Koop said. He added that they asked the man what he was doing? To which the man replied he had gotten the gas from a friend down the road who was having a party. Koop's partner then went to investigate that location and left Koop to watch the man. Once his partner had left, the man got into the vehicle and tried to speed off down the road. But Koop snapped into action, jumping onto the car, grabbing a seat as the vehicle sped down a dirt road going 40 to 50 miles per hour. Koop said the vehicle began to fishtail and he squeezed into the back seat of the car and pulled the man back with him before the vehicle ran off the road and crashed.

Koop said that after his time with the police department he went back to dispatcher and jailer before leaving law enforcement. After law enforcement, he became a butcher for four years, but eventually law enforcement drew him back. He once again became a dispatcher and jailer before being hired as a Department of Fish and Game officer for the tribe. 

Fish and game was perfect for him, he said, molding his independent nature and his love of wildlife. 

"Fish and game was the best part of my life," he said. "I guess because I didn't have to rely on anyone, I was always on my own."

He said that from his years as a trapper and his long history and love for hunting and fishing he knew the area like the back of his hand. He added that it was often scary having to stop vehicles on his own, everyone he interacted with usually being armed and having no back up in case anything went wrong, but that adrenaline rush was something he was attracted to.

While working for fish and game, he also attended college, earning a degree in teacher education, he said. But after leaving fish and game, he was once again was drawn back law enforcement.

He said that for a period of time, he bounced job to job, but while he was working security for Northern Winz Casino and Resort, he received a call from the tribal courts offering him a position as an assistant prosecutor. 

After he took the job, he was also hired as the full-time bailiff, he said. He held that position for three years, he said, but as the bailiff he saw a number of people who went through the court system, who were ill advised and pleaded guilty to charges they did not commit. He said this motivated him to want to become a public defender, which he did for a number of years, helping people who needed help. He added that from the office of the public defender he eventually took a job as an associate judge.

Diabetes leading to art career

This was his last job in law enforcement before something unexpected happened in his life, he said. A year and a half after becoming a judge, he was diagnosed with diabetes. He said this largely changed his life, the pain from his feet swelling from the disease becoming so bad that at times he was unable to walk. He eventually left his job because of this and became homebound.

It was because of this life change he invested in becoming a full-time artist, he said. He had been drawing and painting all throughout his life, always making time in his schedule, regardless of what job he had, to work on his craft. He added that he had many people in his life who also helped him along with becoming a better artist, such as the late Algie Piapot and the late Vernon The Boy.

He has been a full-time artist for the past four years, he said, adding that he has done anywhere between 300 to 400 paintings within that time. He said he also could see how his art improved the more he worked on it, fine-tuning his craft.

"You just continuously improve and try to improve yourself and improve your paintings," he said.

Koop said that, no matter what he is doing, he wants to be the best that he can be. He said that while he was a butcher, he strived to be the best butcher he could be, and when we attended college and the police academy he graduated at the top of both of the classes. He added that no matter who a person is or what they do they should always give it their all.

"Just strive to be the best you can be," he said.

He said that because of his years in law enforcement, usually working overnight shifts, he still is in the habit of waking up at 2 a.m. every morning. He added that he usually fixes himself a cup of coffee and starts painting at this time, enjoying the solitude and silence before his wife and three children wake up.

He said that his family has been very supportive of his pursuit in art, adding that his wife, Linda Osborne Koop, is his greatest muse.

Using a technique through his eyes

He said his process for creating a piece may be different than other artists. He said that he often stares at the blank canvas and after staring for a long enough time, he can see a picture begin to form. He then immediately draws it out and begins to work on the background of the piece.

"Everybody has their own talent in how they paint, that's why I named my show 'Thru My Eyes,' because that's the way I see." Koop said. 

He added that he mostly paints wildlife, because of his love of nature, although he does do Native American art as well.

"I try to capture the wildlife in different settings, different emotions," he said.

He said that once he is finished with doing acrylic painting, he plans to move to oils, which he has already decided he will be working on strictly Native American art.

One of his pieces that is displayed this month at Artitudes Gallery is a mixture of both styles, he said. The painting is of an old tradition done by Native American tribes, in which a hunter digs a pit and covers it and hides. A dead animal is displayed over the pit to attract eagles, which the hunter is able to, without killing the eagle, extract feathers for ceremonial reasons, he said.

He added that he tried to find something online to reference to but no pictures could be found. 

"I've never seen any type of painting like it," he said. "That's why I wanted to do it."

Being recognized as an artist is difficult, he said. A number of people knew him because of his law enforcement background and didn't know he was a painter as well. He added that he has been a full-time painter for four years but he has not done many shows with his art. His art show in Artitudes is his second show in Havre over the years. 

But a couple of years ago the United States Department of Agriculture held a competition for Native American artists, in which he competed with other artists from across the county, he said. He won the competition and his artwork was displayed on a poster which was distributed across the country.

He added that when he was younger he never thought he would ever become a full-time artist, but he is happy to be where he is today.