RAPID CITY — Connie Savage Thiewes doesn't claim to be another Claude Monet.

If she did, she might be working on 24 paintings instead of just three.

"Monet once painted 24 paintings in three months while visiting Holland on his way back from England at the end of the Franco-Prussian War," Savage Thiewes, a 46-year-old painter from rural Rapid City, said. "I figured I could do three."

Officials for the Black Hills Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation figured she could, too. That is why they asked Savage Thiewes to paint three pieces of art for auction at the chapter's annual fund-raising banquet.

"We wanted something that would really represent the Black Hills and something that would show that when we buy land, it's for everybody, not just for hunters," Greg Johnson, federation chapter president and banquet coordinator, said.

Savage Thiewes is the featured artist for the banquet March 8 at Ramkota Hotel Best Western in Rapid City. But art and outdoor lovers can see the paintings in progress before then.

She'll be working on them at the turkey-federation booth at the Black Hills Sports Show this Friday and Saturday afternoon at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. You can also check them out online at www.savagethiewes.com/ community_service.html

"People always want to see a painting evolve. This way, you can see it from the very get-go and see what it evolves into," Savage Thiewes, daughter of the late well-known Sioux Falls artist Jim Savage, said.

Featured artists for wildlife banquets typically produce the "duck-stamp" style of art. It is focused on individual or groups of birds or animals, with little scenery.

Savage Thiewes is taking a different approach.

"I wanted to focus more on the landscape, to do something local of the Black Hills, rather than the duck-stamp or turkey-stamp look," she said.

The largest of the three paintings, 24 inches by 30 inches, is a landscape of Romey Game Production Area near Hot Springs. The turkey federation gave $100,000 to help buy the land for public use, including hunting.

A 16-by-20-inch painting is of the forest near Savage Thiewes' rural home, with turkeys as part of the picture.

And a 12-by-12-inch painting is of a mule-deer doe and twin fawns mostly hidden in a shady spot near Savage Thiewes' home.

"I'll have all three of them down at the sports show, and I'll be working on them," she said. "I keep adding things, but they are by no means done."

Savage Thiewes has been an artist since she was an eighth-grader. She has done art shows and been an artist-in-residence but now likes to aim her art at multiple goals.

The turkey-federation offer fit well with that.

"I'm not just doing paintings in hopes that somebody likes them," she said. "To me, this has a practical use. The turkey federation is committed to conserving wildlife and protecting green space. I love watching turkeys and other wildlife around my house. I want to help protect that."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com