Austin has always been a colorful city that attracts artists from around the world. Every Month Miller IDS showcases Austin’s creative energy by highlighting a resident artist and their work. We love being a trusted resource for painters, illustrators, designers, and visual artists and, in turn, show our gratitude to the talented folks that keep returning for the highest-quality prints in the city.
Featured Artist: Irene Strait
July 2015: As an Austin family-owned business, we are especially pleased this month to highlight a member of another Austin family-owned business: Strait Music!
Irene Strait, who partnered with her husband to build Strait Music, was a self-taught artist. She started painting as a young woman but gave it up as her family grew. Once the kids were grown, she began painting again, mostly in oil. The Strait home is full of her art and many of her paintings also hang in other lucky Austinites’ homes.
Extremely prolific in her last years, Irene did not let her illness (COPD) stop her, finishing her last painting just a few weeks before she passed away last year. Her family was amazed at Irene’s desire to keep creating. She would dream about what she was going to paint, sew or needlepoint and she would wake up ready to get at it. Switching to water-based oil paint due to her sensitivity to fumes didn’t slow her down or faze her either. Nothing could interfere with her creativity or enthusiasm!
Irene’s passion for the creative arts clearly shows in this beautiful painting of a dancer, and the piece pays tribute to the 63 years that she and Dan danced together through life.