Originally from Montana, Connie Dillon and her husband, Brian, have lived in Astoria since the spring of 2020, and the North Coast has not disappointed.

Dillon loves painting — landscapes, forests, old homes — and struck artistic gold in Astoria.

“A pleasant surprise were the forests,” she said. “I love hiking through forests, taking photos, and I use the photos as the basis for my paintings.”

There’s also “all the gardens, the forests, the architecture. I have paintings of some of the local homes. I love the architecture.”

The Dillons had visited Astoria previously, but only in summer months.

“When we came out on a house-hunting trip in December, we found a house that we wanted,” Dillon said. “But we had only seen Astoria in the beautiful summer, and thought we should really stay and see what it’s like in winter.

“And that winter, there was a huge storm with power outages, and we had to read our house contract at the library where they had electricity. We thought if the winters are this harsh, maybe we’ll rethink it.”

The couple still decided to make the move, and haven’t regretted it.

“We just felt it was beautiful, and the people here are super friendly. My husband was a retired English lit professor, and being an artist I could do my work anyplace, so we decided to move to a place close to the ocean.”

Dillon, who had her own art gallery in Billings, opened the ARTstoria art gallery in August. The gallery is on Commercial Street, right above RiverSea Gallery.

“I had a small second floor gallery in a historic building in downtown Billings, much like I found here,” she said. “It just seemed like a perfect fit.”

While in Billings, Dillon originated a series of free monthly discussions called “Artful Women of Montana” at a local library. The discussions featured authors, actors, artists, journalists, choreographers, filmmakers or anyone involved in the arts.

“I also started an artists’ salon with author Russell Rowland called ‘Words and Pictures,’ a place to gather for anyone involved in the arts to discuss projects they have going, share advice, expertise and camaraderie,” she said.

“I would like to participate in a similar venue for discussion here in Astoria as the pandemic allows.”

It is, she said, “important to come together as an artistic community, and I long to share ideas and experiences with one another.”

Dillon has a home studio in Astoria where she paints, then shows her work and other gift items at the gallery. She also stays connected with the art scene in Montana.

“I’ve shown at a number of galleries and group shows across the country,” she said. “Right now, I’m into museum auctions in Montana at the Missoula Art Museum and Yellowstone Art Museum.”

The pandemic has slowed foot traffic at most galleries, but through her website — conniedillon.com — Dillon said, “I’ve been shipping out more work, because people are inside more, and they want to improve their surroundings.”

ARTstoria is open randomly. “Just look for the sidewalk sign out front,” she said, otherwise, Dillon can set up appointments “and be there in five minutes.”

She adds, “The reason I named it ARTstoria is the play on words, but I like to hear stories, and I think the art has its own narrative. People are really open with me at the gallery, telling me where they’re from and their own story. Having written one-act plays and performed, the stories are valuable to art.”

Dillon describes her works as “mostly nature scenes. I’m not a portrait artist. I like to do landscapes, close-ups of leaves and flowers, and trees from different perspectives. Like looking up through the tops of the trees, as if you’re walking through the forest.”

With plenty of water around, whether it’s the Columbia River, the ocean, or coming down from above, this winter’s wet weather can be a big plus for artists, she said.

“I just painted a waterfall that’s off Pipeline Road. It’s a seasonal waterfall, because I didn’t see it last summer. The Fort to Sea Trail is a lovely place to go. My favorite beach is Gearhart.

“Each beach has its own personality,” she said. “Cannon Beach has Haystack Rock, and between the (Peter Iredale) shipwreck, Gearhart and Seaside, what you find on each beach is so different.”

Dillon has her favorite places, such as Shively Park and the trails around the Astoria Column.

And, “I have to say that for a small town like Astoria, having an independent art supply store is a real joy. The Dots ‘N Doodles Art Supplies (on Marine Drive), a place for artists to buy locally, is fantastic.”

She added, “I think Astoria has a very healthy art community. I love the variety. There’s as many galleries here as we had in Billings … There’s a lot of really top-notch art in Astoria. I can see it building into a strong art community. I see Astoria as the gateway to the Oregon Coast.”