Local artist paints canvas for president

A Plains artist not only went to the see and hear President Donald Trump during his stop in Missoula, but gave him a taste of Montana to take back to Washington, D.C.

Dave Williams of Plains designed a brush and pallet knife acrylic painting of Missoula with a bit of western Montana on canvas and gave it to the president's staff the day prior to his arrival on Oct. 18. Williams said a secret service agent took the painting, which had to be cleared before putting it on Air Force One for future presentation to the president. Williams said he was hoping to get an autograph from the president and although he didn't, he was told he'd hear back from Trump after the midterm elections.

Several members of veteran outreach organizations asked Williams to do the painting on Oct. 11. It took Williams nearly a week to complete the work. The 48X60-inch painting was his rendition of Missoula, showing Trump saluting at the Fallen Soldier Memorial at the University of Montana, which had been dedicated to the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The painting showed Missoula's Sentinel Hill, along with portions of western Montana, including, abstract versions of the university dormitories, rivers, and forests. He said clouds were painted to look like the Mission Mountains. In addition, he said that parts of the canvas were painted with gold, copper, and silver metallic paint to represent the state's mining heritage. In all, he put around 100 hours into the work. "It was still a little wet when I gave it to them," said Williams, who's been a professional artist for just over four years.

Haylee Steinebach, 14, once again served as his assistant, though she put her brush only to a small portion of the work. Not too long before he was to deliver the painting to the Secret Service, it was decided that Steinebach would paint a small purple bush in the lower corner of the piece in honor of her grandmother, Patty Steinebach, who passed away Oct. 16. Haylee also accompanied Williams to the president's speech.

"To be asked to do a painting for the president of the United States is a great honor and privilege," said the 56-year-old Williams, a U.S. Navy veteran and founder of Joint Operation Mariposa, a nonprofit organization of military suicide awareness. He is also the creator of the most recent art display of the horses along the greenway in Plains, which again had a military veteran tie.

Williams said that as the head of a nonprofit organization, he's not allowed to present his political views about the president's speech, but he was pleased that the president's staff accepted the painting. "While the president is still in office, the painting can be hung in the White House or held by the National Archives. After the president leaves office, the painting will either be housed a the Presidential Library or held in trust by the Smithsonian Museum system," said Williams. "That means my artwork would be held as a national treasure. I thought that was pretty freakin' cool," he added.