Shelley Supporters of the Arts gives grant to artist who painted murals in the Museum of Idaho

SHELLEY — Many people are familiar with Steve Spencer’s artwork even if they don’t know it. His beautiful landscape murals adorn the walls of the Children’s Discovery Room in the Museum of Idaho.

As well as being a landscape artist Steve is a book illustrator, naturalist and conservationist. He also has a gallery next to his home, which he shares with his wife, Wendy’s, Rapid Eye Therapy office.

Painting the murals for the Museum of Idaho, was, he says, “A great experience, and I loved doing it.â€

“Even though I finished only half an hour before the opening,†he adds with a smile.

Steve, a native Idahoan, and Wendy were on the museum renovation committee when the old addition to the museum was being created. Through a long string of events, and a few mishaps, Steve was approached and asked to paint the murals in the Discovery Room.

Angie Lee, one of the Museum of Idaho’s curators at the time, spearheaded the final project. She liked Steve’s work so much, she later asked him to do a mural for her home.

A year after painting the murals for the Children’s Discovery Room, he was asked to paint the exterior of the room, a year after that, he was asked to paint the side mural and rules list to look like a forest ranger sign. After all that, visitors to the museum were still struggling to find the Children’s Discovery Room, so the museum asked him to paint the extension area with the bears and rocks to make the room easier to find.

“I love the docents at the Museum of Idaho,†Steve says. “They are really good people.â€

Many artists incorporate hidden objects into their paintings, but Steve did something unique: he painted all of the walls with the directional orientation in mind. Looking east shows scenes from the Palisades area. When looking north, the Menan Buttes appear. The interior river scene is from the Salmon River and Selway River regions of Idaho.

“My favorite area is the horse team and bunny in the sagebrush as you are leaving the children’s area,†Steve says. “It was free and real and says it all ‘south’ without showing off.â€

Steve loves what he does, and it shows. He says he became an artist because his mother never bought coloring books when he was a child, so he made his own things to color.

The Shelley Supporters of the Arts, a local non-profit that promotes art in South East Idaho, recently awarded Steve a promotional grant for his upcoming summer live art show, which will feature his newest pieces mixed with a few old ones.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The author of this article is on the organization’s Board of Directors, which did not influence the writing of this article.