Meet Our Artists
A graduate of Art Institute of Portland in Oregon with a BFA in Graphic Design, it wasn’t until after formal schooling that Heather began to focus on her true passion, painting. The mtns of Montana around her home are her most influential muse.
Her style is often a blend of the roughness of a palette knife, the use of a spray bottle in dripping and mixing bright saturated colors, mixed mark making, and spiritual and animal forms or abstract landscapes.
Heather paints in many forms and sizes, yet working large is her passion and what she finds most exhilarating. Murals and larger canvas pieces are what fuel her creative and artistic fire.
Mtn Straps is thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Heather. Our customers love the vibrant colors and mtn themes of her work. And we enjoy her positive attitude and passion for all things outdoors.
Growing up in Manitoba, Canada, artist Sarah Angst was used to winter, but it wasn’t until she moved to Bozeman, MT that she fell in love with the mountains. Growing up on the prairies, she always thought mountains were inaccessible, that one had to be an extreme mountaineer to enjoy them recreationally. Yet now, after living in the mountains since 2007, they are a part of her everyday adventures and a huge inspiration for her artwork.
The beauty of nature, animals, and life’s simple pleasures are captured through Angst’s block prints and painting. With her use of bold lines and bright colors, Angst's artwork reminds us all to slow down and enjoy the simple beauty that surrounds us.
“I have always loved creating art ever since I was a little girl. Putting elements together until they look and feel just right is very rewarding. Having others respond so positively to what I’ve created is even better.” says Sarah.
Mtn Straps is excited to have the opportunity to work Sarah. We’ve admired her work for years having bought countless cards featuring her designs as birthday cards and thank you notes. Behind the scenes Sarah has been a joy to work with both fun loving and professional.
Fayetteville may be base camp for Drew, yet the road is often his home. In the world of tattoo art, traveling and “guesting” at other tattoo artist studios is a way of life. For Drew it means he can sample the waters and species of fish where ever he sets up shop. All this traveling has brought him a large following and reputation as the “go-to” person if you want tattoos with bold and elaborate color patterns featuring fish.
Being based here in Bozeman we were constantly being asked for webbing products with “fish patterns” on them. Yet if we were going to do it we wanted to bring a fresh feel and take on the subject. So we count ourselves lucky to be able to collaborate with Drew. He claims he isn’t a “graphic artist” yet the design he did for us came out amazing and brings a new perspective to the subject.
Math teacher by day, artist by night. And weekends. With pens, ink, and watercolors Sydni draws (pun intended) upon her many outdoor adventures in the mtns around her home in Idaho and around the west as her source for inspiration and creative energy.
Sydni’s first collaboration with us is a design based upon The Grand Teton that she did specifically to be used on our webbing products. Through several drafts we learned more on the art of pen & watercolors and Sydni got a chance to learn the challenges of repeating designs on a one inch tall “canvas”. We are extremely happy with the resulting piece and our customers are too.
Bryn calls the beautiful Lake Tahoe region home. The mtns, rivers, and lakes that surround her home are the well source for energy and her art. Entirely self- taught, Bryn’s whimsical illustrations and commercial designs have been used by many outdoor companies in the region and beyond.
We’re excited to bring you two of her bold designs that feature mtns from her adventures.
One of our best customers suggested we check out Dawn’s work and we were blown away. And also a bit nervous as much of her work is large, really large. Our concern was how it would translate when brought down in size to work on webbing. Well Dawn is a pro and also has a spirit for adventure and collaboration. The results are stellar and elements of her art comes to life on webbing.
Large artwork should not have been a surprise as Dawn is a lifelong Alaskan who’s moved by the natural splendor that has surrounds her– mtns, wildlife, rivers, wildflowers and outdoor activities. She finds ways to inject a fiercely whimsical vitality to Alaskan icons and has created her own language with a swipe of color or a rigid line of dots.
Mimi Matsuda is a full-time artist living in Bozeman, Montana.
Ever since childhood she has drawn animals and has been surrounded by them. She had pet chickens, rats, birds, and fish as a kid and studied biology in school. She grew up exploring for salamanders, fishing for trout, and watching birds and mammals in the evergreen forests of Oregon.
After graduating from college with a degree in biology, she worked her dream job in the National Parks, as a National Park Ranger Naturalist for Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks.
Using her artwork to connect people with the natural environment led her to a new career as a full-time artist. Today she paints to encourage people to emotionally connect with nature, sometimes through sheer beauty, sometimes through humor. She hopes these connections will lead to the preservation and protection of wildlands and animals.
Mimi works in soft pastels, acrylics, oils, watercolors, colored pencils, and enjoys the challenges of the variety of media.
I’ve admired Mimi’s art for years yet puzzled on just how to capture it on webbing. Finally, after seeing the painting featured above, I knew we could create a layout that would do justice to her amazing work.
Brinkley Messick has a house Salida Colorado. Yet anywhere outside is where he feels most at home. Work-life and play in the outdoors all intermingle for Brinkley. He takes great joy in introducing his children to the vast array of activities available to them in Colorado.
Rarely does he venture out without at least a sketchbook and often with brushes and paint. Always done by hand, never computer, Brinkley captures the light and landscapes on paper, fabric, and sometimes found items. A talented and prolific artist with a sly sense of humor. The results are, truly magical.
Like the alpine light on a mtn peak, capturing Brinkley to collaborate was a matter of patience, luck, and timing. And like those moments, you feel blessed when it all aligns & comes together.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Lizzie Wenger has long been captivated by the colorful, fragile, and unique landscapes of the southwest. After her father’s passing when she was 12, Lizzie began to explore grieving and healing with the outdoors serving as a guide. Climbing, canyoneering, mountaineering, biking, and skiing helped empowered her throughout this period, and continue to do so.
Lizzie’s perspective on western landscapes is playful, colorful, and inviting. Her work is intended to inspire connectivity between people and places. Her “psychedelic cubist” style has been developing for many years as she navigates different ways to see the world around her.
Originally from Olympia, Washington, Gina moved to Bozeman after graduating from Pacific Lutheran University.
Growing up in a family of artists, Gina was surrounded by creativity and a love for various mediums such as watercolor, acrylics, oil, pastels, mosaic tile, and glass. However, it wasn't until 2019, while raising my two kids, Davey and Mac, that Gina discovered her own passion for painting. As a stay-at-home mom, she turned to YouTube tutorials, books, and lots of trial and error to teach herself the art of painting. It was a journey of self-discovery and a way for her to find her own voice amidst the joys and challenges of motherhood.
The bold & vibrant colors of artist Gina DiMaggio’s work stopped us in our tracks the first time we saw one of her pieces. We know you will be captivated too seeing her work on one of our collars or leashes. These are sure to get tails wagging.
Entrepreneur, visionary, artist, adventurer, founder of Youer clothing brand, Mallory Ottariano does it all. With style too. Starting with a second-hand sewing machine set up in a closet and now with of production facility in Missoula MT. We love an underdog story. We love underdog stories that are about building great products here in the US. Here in Montana!
Like many entrepreneurs Mallory taught herself virtually every step required to make her product and run a thriving business. Including how to create beautiful patterns. We saw her patterns and knew they would look amazing on collars & leashes. We think you will too.