Studio-Shack on The Hill
Fountain grew up in the Palouse region of Idaho and has long recognized its special charisma. He has also lived away from the Palouse for many years, including ten years in Texas, but each summer Fountain would return to paint in the Palouse hills.
On one such summer return, a local farmer with an expansive spirit gave Benny the go ahead to build a studio-shack at a high point on his land.
After the summer, back in Texas, Benny dashed off a pencil sketch of the structure he had in mind and mailed it back to his father in Idaho. A couple of months passed Fountain’s father told him he’d built it and perched it on a foundation of boulders he cobbled together from the hillside.
In 2022 Fountain moved back to the region and now spends his hours, days and months working in solitary artistic pursuit at the studio-Shack on the Hill.
On one such summer return, a local farmer with an expansive spirit gave me the go ahead to build a studio-shack at a high point on his land.
After the summer, back in Texas, I dashed off a pencil sketch of the structure I had in mind and mailed it to my father. A couple of months passed and he told me he’d built it and perched it on a foundation of boulders he’d cobbled together from the hillside.
