As the holidays wind down and the new year gets underway, there are many opportunities available for enjoying the visual arts locally.
Mountlake Terrace
Local artist Paul Payne displays works showing the rewards of a lifelong quest at the Mountlake Terrace Library in January, hosted by the Mountlake Terrace Arts Commission.
Payne admits that he first wanted to build robots, so he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He enjoyed working with his hands and head, so he went into construction. He also tried his hand as a missionary, information architect, and Director of Innovation. In 2004, he moved to Seattle and became an IT Consultant.
Payne sold his successful Internet business in 2007 to devote himself to a personal mission culminating in the self-realization that, “all I ever really wanted to do was paint.” He completed a rigorous foundation-painting program at Gage Academy of Arts, honing his skills to realize his dream.
Now working in his Mountlake Terrace studio, in a home he shares with his wife, Jennifer, and two daughters, Payne now produces oil paintings instead of websites, focusing primarily on portraits and figurative works. “I am fascinated by the human figure,” Payne said, “by the interplay of form and color, and by the illusion of depth.
His work has been included in group shows at Arts of the Terrace, and La Familia Gallery in Pioneer’s Square and will be featured in a solo show at Gage Academy in February.
Shoreline
You still have an opportunity to view the closing days of the exhibit “Urban Meditation,” featuring black and white photography by Joan Bowers, Monika Danos and DeAnna Foran, through Jan. 6 at the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council’s Gallery at the Shoreline Center.
Opening Jan. 12, the gallery hosts “Maps and Puzzles of the Imagination,” an exhibit highlighting an assortment of mind puzzles in the form of art. Ray Weisgerber takes his photographs and mirrors and manipulates them to make new and exciting images. With loose and colorful strokes, Sue Robertson works from her imagination and goes wherever the painting takes her. Mark Skullerud utilizes unique composition for his paintings, taking us on journeys through landscapes never before seen.
An open house is planned from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, where the public is invited to meet and greet the artists. Refreshments will be served. The show runs through Feb. 27.
At the Shoreline Community College Gallery, the exhibit “Tree,” oil paintings by Pamela Mills, continues through Jan. 6. Opening Jan. 8, “Recent Work in Clay,” a show of the pottery and sculpture of Art Faculty Member Bruce Amstutz opens.
Amstutz says he would rather have his hands in clay. Most of the pieces in this show are from his studio in the woods on Lopez Island where he spends his Summers. These vessel forms represent his interest in the character of clay and its response to forming actions like throwing, cutting, pressing and tearing. He strives to use very simple materials for glazes, like wood ash and surface clay that he digs from beside his kiln. The exhibit is on display through Feb 3, 2009
Edmonds
Gallery North in Edmonds celebrates the beginning of 2009 with a special exhibition titled “New Year, New Art,” a collection of all new art works from its gallery members. The show will include a variety of watercolor, encaustic, oil, color pencil, and acrylic paintings as well as three dimensional works. Wood turning and carving, statuary, glass, pottery, and fine art jewelry objects will also be on display.
The public is invited to a special reception from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11. Artists will be present to discuss their work and refreshments will be served. Gallery North will also celebrate the Edmonds Third Thursday Art Walk from 5 to 8 p.m. Jan. 15.
Opening Jan. 15, the ArtsNow Gallery at the Edmonds Conference Center hosts the “EDGE Exhibit,” features work in a broad range of mediums by the artists graduating from the Fall ArtsNow EDGE program. An Artist Reception is planned from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15. The show runs through March 6.
At Autumn’s Gallery, “On Soft Paws” original pastels and paintings by Cheryl Hufnagel &Autumn Kegley are on view through Jan. 13. Hufnagel and Kegley find it difficult to resist exploring the grace, expressiveness, and textural sensuality of cats. This exhibit features a collection of their different tributes to felines they have both known or admired from afar.
Through Jan. 12, Cole Gallery has “Bold, Bright Bowman,” an exhibit of work by artist Jennifer Bowman. Bowman’s vibrant paintings bring a contemporary mood to a variety of subjects. From boats racing in the wind to landscapes and even Bocci players, Bowman’s paintings offer a sense of humor and fresh approach to life and color in art.
Lynnwood
Lynnwood Library Gallery Through Jan. 8, the Lynnwood Arts Commission gallery in the library hosts a sumi ink painting and calligraphy exhibit highlighting the works of members of Puget Sound Sumi Artists.
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