You don’t have to travel to Jackson Hole, Scottsdale, or Santa Fe to purchase fine art.

Cimarron Song Gallery, located at 901 E. Main St. in Montrose is open by private appointment only.

Owner Gregory Packard has been an artist his whole life, but at age 28, while working in the high-tech sector, the art bug really bit him hard. As he was mulling over becoming a professional artist and juggling his career, he happened to stop into a gallery where a professional artist was giving a class the next day.

Gregory immediately signed up, and that experience convinced him to attack his art full time, and so his impressionist oil painting career began.

He and his wife, Carolyn, who is a terrific pottery artist, opened Cimarron Song Gallery in Montrose nine years ago in a building that was an insurance agency for over 50 years.

Montrose Business Times: What was the biggest challenge you had to handle to open the gallery?

Gregory: We had to remodel the place inside and out, top to bottom. It was a much bigger challenge than we expected it to be, but we are so pleased by the results. We hope it feels elegant yet comfortable, and that it showcases the artwork to its best advantage.

MBT: You have an interesting business model in that you are open by appointment only. Why?

Gregory: When we opened the gallery, it was sort of on a whim. I’ve had paintings in galleries all over the country and have gotten a feel for the towns that host them. My wife and I felt that Montrose, with its access to so many amazing recreational opportunities and its cozy, small town feel, lent itself to a fine art gallery. Rather than try and staff it all the time, we decided to be open by appointment only. Happily, that business model has worked for us and has allowed us to stay open and profitable for nine years.

We feel Montrose is slowly growing into that kind of town — a gateway to the Western Slope — where fine art is expected by visitors and locals alike. When it becomes that destination town, we intend to have regular gallery hours and we look forward to it!

For now, anyone interested in visiting can give us a call at 970-964-8082. We live just a few blocks away, so my wife or I can generally be at the gallery in under 5 minutes. It also gives us a chance to take our two dogs for their walk, and they love greeting people in the gallery.

MBT: What has been the biggest challenge for your business over the years?

Gregory: It’s been a challenge to attract both outstanding artists and clients willing to invest in high quality fine art. From personal experience, there’s nothing like owning fine art created by a talented artist – it’s a visceral and very personal experience. We hope anyone who has an interest in that experience will stop by and visit. At this moment, we have eight exceptional artists that exhibit in our gallery, including my wife and me. All of us have artwork and paintings in galleries all over the country. In fact, our artists — Ralph Oberg, Shirley Novak, Julie Hutcheson, Rita Pacheco, Eric Santoli, Katha Potts, and Sarah Packard, my daughter — have won awards in many shows.

MBT: What has been the biggest challenge for you as an artist?

Gregory: A great deal of the paintings in the gallery are my own, so juggling the gallery and creating enough paintings to fulfill my obligations both to Cimarron Song, as well as to all the other galleries where I sell my art, is a full-time job and then some. I even make my own hand-carved and gilded frames because I can customize the frame to complement the art.

MBT: What is your favorite subject to paint?

I am enamored with the Cimarron Valley and Silver Jack Reservoir. I love the area in all its moods. In addition, I enjoy painting florals, as well as the ocean. My wife and I recently became empty nesters, so now we are traveling more. We make it a point to get to the California/Oregon coast at least once a year so I can get my ocean fix. And now that the kids are starting their careers, we are starting to travel more internationally. We recently returned from a trip to the Mediterranean and I look forward to turning some of the 2,500 photos I took into paintings!

Jen Wolfe is a freelance contributor for the Montrose Business Times.