Miller using his art to help Havre Food Bank

Frank Miller, a local artist and a founding member of Artitudes Gallery, is displaying a collection of his work at the gallery with the proceeds of sales going to the Havre Food Bank.

"The Havre Food Bank is a really good charity," Miller said, "... they're under a lot of pressure now."

He said his house is practically overflowing with artwork he's created and he's looking for a way to thin it out a bit, and he thought the Havre Food Bank could use some help during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I've got a big five-bedroom house full of artwork, and I need to give them good homes," he said.

Miller said some pieces in this collection of watercolors and oil paintings were done by members of his family, including his wife, Mariann, who died a-year-and-a-half ago after 52 years of marriage.

"I miss her, no question about that," he said.

Though his children have left to make their own lives, Miller is still kept company by his buddy, big black cat, Rasputin.

Miller was an OBGYN in southern Illinois before moved to Havre in 1983, after reading about the area.

"I just fell in love with the literature of the Old West," he said.

"It was an attractive thing to have patients that really needed me, there was no other obstetrician here for so long," he said, "I like being busy and I like being useful. My kids loved it here, my wife loved it here."

Miller said upon arriving in Havre he discovered a community that inspired him to become and amateur artist in his spare time, which was easier since his practice in Havre was not quite as busy as back in Illinois.

"My history as an artist began when I moved to Havre," he said, "... When I got out here I realized there was a really good community for art."

"We have a very artsy, craftsy community out here, lots of very talented amateur artists," he added.

Miller started attending free art classes shortly after his arrival and immediately set about oil painting until he found another form of art that sparked his passion.

"After I did that for several years, I finally discovered watercolor and I really enjoyed that a lot," he said.

He said he enjoys watercolors not just for its style, but because he didn't have to retreat to his basement, instead able to create art work on the kitchen table before clearing it off so his family could enjoy a meal together.

"I have an emotional attachment to just about every piece of art that I did," he said, "I remember doing it and what I was thinking at the time, and it's been really a really fulfilling hobby."

Miller said he thinks the pandemic has hurt artists professionally and otherwise not just in terms of their finances, but in terms of motivation.

"It's hard to keep at it for professionals and amateurs," he said.

He said even people doing art as a hobby need money to pay for what can be an expensive personal pursuit and the pandemic has made that more difficult to do.

Having recently turned 78, Miller said, his age has slowed him down somewhat when it comes to creating art, but he hopes that selling his pieces will help the Artitudes Gallery as well as the food bank.