“Industrial cowboy meets down-home comfort style,” is how Boise artist Belinda Isley describes her large-scale pieces that were specially commissioned by E BarGrill for its newly remodeled space in downtown Redmond. Intent on representing the local area, E BarGrill owner Eric Metzel tasked Isley with creating large pieces that would honor the local area and present a western, yet clean and contemporary vibe.  According to Metzel, “She nailed it!”  

The six pieces are computer assisted collage using vintage objects and photographs and commemorates Central Oregon’s heritage by incorporating several historical area photographs.

Isley repurposes vintage photos, antique ephemera, game pieces and other cast-off treasures as her raw materials, while using collage, construction, cold metal fusion and a big dose of humor to create one-of-a-kind collages and assemblage boxes. The work commissioned by E BarGrill is the first time she has ventured into the world of computer-assisted graphics---which was critical in creating the large-scale collage pieces.  

“I love the irony of using high-tech tools alongside vintage images,” said Isley.  “That represents the restaurant perfectly---industrial cowboy meets down-home comfort style.”

Isley studied design at Utah State University, and law at the University of San Diego, before graduating from Idaho State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.  She has won several juror awards in national juried shows and was a grant recipient from the Boise Weekly.  Recently she was honored with public art commissions from the City of Boise, the City of Ketchum, the City of Nampa, and was commissioned by the City of Boise to create a large-scale collage commemorating Boise’s 150th birthday, which now hangs in the Boise Airport.  She is represented by Brumfield’s Gallery in Boise; Masala, an East Coast publishing company that distributes her greeting cards nationally; and is a featured artist at the Boise Art Museum store.  Her original assemblages are included in more than 90 private collections throughout the U.S.

See more of her work at www.inside-the-art-box.com.

Special thanks to the Deschutes County Historical Society and the City of Redmond for helping with local photography.