Blog

Lots of preparation and excitement for a solo show...everything will be ready to go by First Thursday, June 7, 6-8pm, Gallery 110, 110 3rd Ave. S, Seattle (Pioneer Square).

The Reception is Saturday, June 9, 5-8pm. 

 

 

"Passageways: a hero's journey" will have ten paintings inspired by scenes from years of visits to the San Juan Islands.  Preview the exhibit:  Passageways

 

 No task is too big or too small for Karen Abel (which is one of many reasons she is at the top of my Respect-O-Meter).  Here she is mopping the floor after the Kick-Off Reception for 150 Feet of Art on a Friday night.  This scene wasn't a one-time capture on camera:  this is how Karen is all the time.  Relentlessly willing to do whatever for our community Art Center!

 

Here we go....an hour before the Kick-Off Reception last Friday!  Come to Up Front Gallery on Front Street in Issaquah through May 12 to bid & buy great art in support of our artEAST Art Center.  A place where so much Good happens for so many people.

 

I just love the feel of this pre-party photo of our bar-in-the-barn....I will paint this scene.

Our Guest Artist this month was Stephanie Hargrave!  Our group of 12 has started to bond (welcome to Valaree Cox!) and the conversations get more lively, more useful, and more fun.  Stephanie does a brilliant job of being candid, and therefore, helpful...but also manages to be supportive, kind, and insightful.  Stephanie has also been named as the Guest Juror for artEAST's 150 Feet of Art coming April 27 - May 12. 

 

Even the body language tells the story of how connected we feel as a group!

L to R:  Lorien Moore, Sarah Dalton, Julie Rackley, Valaree Cox, Becky Brooks.

Back to the San Juan Islands....the land and sea forms that move my soul!

 

This photo may be the reference source for my new series of interiors....based in part on the work of Walker Evans, American photographer, whose book sits on the coffee table in this setting.  I'm absorbed by his biography right now.  Walker Evans, in his words, was a "pathological bibliophile".  Me, too.

 

 

Crab cakes....with fresh crab!  And, gluten-free?!  YES!

 

Great friends, Willy and Vreni, have opened their home on Shaw Island to our family for over 30 years.  Both are superb cooks, and the kitchen is the hub of good conversation, great wine, and many a laugh.

 

Seattle artist, Don Haggerty, kicked off the first session of this term's Art Critique.  There seemed to be an amazing amount of positive energy from the artists who registered for this series of sessions; they were engaged and conversational and helpful from the get-go last night.

 

Artist Sarah Dalton, a photograher, took her turn.  An Art Critique group has a unique power to sustain artists of all mediums, even those working in areas unlike one's one.  For example, fiber artist, Suzanne Tidwell, had astute suggestions for one of Sarah's images.

L to R:  Lorien Moore, Sarah Dalton, Suzanne Tidwell, Don Haggerty, Julie Rackley.

 

We meet monthly at the artEAST Art Center.  Here Don is listening to emerging artist Lorien Moore describe her process with excitement...she just discovered acrylics, plastics, gel mediums, and textures.

 

  We eat and drink well, too!

 

 

 

New art critique member, Julie Rackley, brings her perspective of being an interior designer, as well as emerging artist, to the table.  Her imaginative work is inspired by her trips to Italy.  Julie shared bold, intelligent thoughts throughout the evening.  I appreciated her comments about my piece being too balanced, with both sides competing for the viewer's attention...so the viewer is left with no place to settle and no place to begin visual exploration. 

 

One of the founding members of Issaquah's Art Crit is Mami Shimomura, whose ability to capture the spirit of a person in her portraits is outstanding.  Don asked good questions of each artist and continued to turn to the group for our reflections, too.  He also paused between artists' turns to read compelling quotes from books he brought with him. 

 

Another founding member of Art Crit is the colorful fiber artist, Suzanne Tidwell...her work and her personality are both big and vibrant.  She is an Idea person...really more of a conceptual artist than her current fame as the fiber artist who 'yarn-bombed' the tree socks for Occidental Park (she was hired by Seattle Parks & Rec actually) and now is on tap for City of Redmond projects.  Suzanne cheerfully told us about her recent experience in New York with Vogue and her knitting endeavors there...as if....that isn't just extraordinary?! 

L to R:  Sarah Dalton, Don Haggerty, Suzanne Tidwell

 

My son and his wife recently acquired a painting of mine done back in my college years, studying Art at UC Davis with the great Wayne Thiebaud.  Here it is in their living room over the mantle.  I hadn't seen this piece in over 30 years.  I just cannot get over how my "mark" has stayed the same over the years. 

 

 

 

 

Author and painter, Mitchell Albala, explains it this way, "A painter's consciousness and personality are channeled through his (or her) brushes and into the painting itself, producing a style that is uniquely her own."  My consciousness and my personality are pretty much the same since my college days, so I guess my "painterly handwriting" has stayed true, too.  It still seems spooky somehow.

 

 

My family at the Gallery 110 Reception earlier this month....thank you Megan, Jaime, Jen, Erin, and Tom!  What a fun Fan Club I have!  Pat was there, too, but just didn't make it into the photo. 

The New Members' Exhibtion

January 4-28, Gallery 110, 110 3rd Ave. S, Seattle (Pioneer Square)

First Thursday, January 5, 6:00-8:00pm

Reception, Saturday, January 7, 6:00-8:00pm

Please come to either event!

 

 

 

A couple of times each year, Gallery 110 juries in new artist members...and then hosts an exhibition of their work.  I am included in this group of five, and on Sunday, January 1, we installed the show.   Monika Dalkin and Jim Pirie, of the Gallery's Installation Committee, placed my work carefully on the gallery walls.

 

 

Jim is making sure my painting is level!

Good friends, good food, good wine, and good times were had by the crowds who purchased tickets to artEAST Art Center's birthday party...celebrating one year in our new location at 95 Front Street N in Issaquah!

Photo is of me with one of my favorite fellow aritsts, Molly Hueffed.