2019 Best Artist: Fred Choate

Fred Choate has been a full-time artist since 1982. But since 1997, he has been particularly focused on painting the Southern Idaho landscape, and he’s become particularly fascinated by the way that bodies of water refract and reflect light. If you’ve spent any amount of time in the Treasure Valley you’ve seen his murals, which have graced the walls of everything from the Garden City Library to Gino’s Italian Restaurant to the exterior of the Record Exchange. Go to fredchoate.com to see his work – or even learn how to attend a class.

Runners-up (listed alphabetically):

Jessica Tookey

Ward Hooper

This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 1:30 AM.