Tyree Callahan grew up in Bisbee, Arizona before moving to Bellingham, Washington, in 1993, and has this to say about his work:

"Nature is the best instructor an artist can have. I’m constantly amazed at the play of light through our moist air and over the varied landscape of the Pacific Northwest. I especially enjoy early morning light—that short interval of time just before the last of the fog burns off—and evening light, especially on humid evenings, when the atmosphere itself is aglow with evening’s hues. We live in an environment that can produce both vivid and somber landscapes, often both within an hour’s time.

"Oils, my chosen medium, are perfect for the task of capturing the scenery found in our region: the pigments--many ground from earthen rocks--are versatile and bright enough to capture the qualities of light and atmosphere found here in the Fourth Corner. I typically work from memory, which helps tilt the painting toward a less-representational nature. It also aids in sensationalizing the recollection of that place. I often feel that a finished painting is too exaggerated or too saturated and not true to what I saw, but it isn’t long before I’m outside again and witnessing an even more unbelievable mixture of light, air, and clouds.

"I love to work the line between abstraction and representation, and allowing a viewer to take what they want from a painting. For the same reason, I am hesitant to name the pieces, or to offer clues as to the precise places which inspired them. They do exist, but I derive a great deal of happiness when people tell me a painting reminds them of a place. It is an honor to evoke such memory. And, sometimes they are right."