Ospreys take the spotlight

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

The Festival at Sandpoint shared its 2019 poster July 11, unveiling a piece that highlights the merger of nature and culture that happens at Memorial Field for two weeks each August.

Robert Bissett standing with his work, “Dinner with Music.” Courtesy photo.

The poster, titled “Dinner with Music,” features the iconic Festival tent in the background while a mother osprey returns to her nest in the foreground, delivering a fresh-caught fish dinner to her waiting chicks. 

Poster artist Robert Bissett, who has worked in a variety of artistic media for about 40 years, said his inspirations include “landscapes, still life, portraits — sometimes random shapes and colors to see what develops by chance.” He created “Dinner with Music” digitally, starting first with a 3-D model of Memorial Field’s various elements, then ultimately deciding on the “bird’s-eye-view” concept.

“I love the poster this year because of the osprey, who I consider to be part of our Festival family. This is the first time an artist has featured the babies as the stars of the show,” said Festival at Sandpoint Director Dyno Wahl, adding that Bissett donated the poster, which is in the process of being auctioned off with proceeds benefiting the Festival. The poster is on display and a bid sheet is available now at the Festival office, 525 Pine Street in Sandpoint. Wahl said the winning bidder will be announced during intermission of the Aug. 11 finale concert.

According to Wahl, Festival-goers will have the chance to see the original piece and meet Bissett in the merchandise tent during this year’s shows, which run Thursday, Aug. 1-Sunday, Aug. 4 and Thursday, Aug. 8-Sunday, Aug. 11.

To see more of Bissett’s work, search his name at fineartamerica.com. See past Festival at Sandpoint posters at festivalatsandpoint.com/history.