God never foget bible verse shawna wright birds watercolor

God Speaks and Birds Tweet — The Inspirational Art of Shawna Wright

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The promises of God in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are inspiration for Shawna Wright’s watercolor artwork. I Will Never Forget You, original watercolor painting by Shawna Wright

There is a tired old joke in church circles that goes like this:

“Watch out what you pray for, because God just may give it to you!” The idea is that God, like a genie in a fairy tale, enjoys a little flimflam.

But not all people see God in this light, and Shawna Wright, a Milton-Freewater, OR, watercolor artist, is one of them. Seven years ago, when she uttered a deeply heartfelt prayer:

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Shawna Wright knows from experience that Everything Is Possible with God. Original watercolor painting with Scripture verse.

“God, please give me something to do for You,” she didn’t know what the answer would be, but she knew it wouldn’t be bad, or wrong, or painful, or unpleasantly undesirable. She knew that it would be, like God, good. And it came about, slowly but determinedly, like this:

God Listened and Answered

For more than a year, she had been sending journal pages with Bible promises on them to her father — 1200 miles away — who was discouraged and in pain because of an accident. On his birthday, with the idea of making the page extra special, she painted a bird.

“My family and I were surprised at how well it turned out, and I knew in my heart something special had happened.”

That something special grew into a fast-track project (“I never do anything moderately; it’s either all or nothing!”) of Wright painting 11 more birds, with the idea of creating a calendar with images embellished by Bible verses. Those calendars took off like an eagle diving for a fish, and Wright has been so busy looking forward, that she hasn’t looked back.

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Joy Comes in the Morning, a promise of God painted by Shawna Wright in this original watercolor artwork.

“A ministry was born,” Wright says. “It is wrapped around the theme of Bible promises and that God can be trusted.

“The motto on my website is, ‘Encouraging people to take God at His word and equipping them with tools to encourage others.”

In addition to the calendars, which require 12 original paintings with verses each year, Wright has added note cards (God Tweets), bookmarks, refrigerator magnets, spiral journals, and art prints to her collection, and has sold her work throughout the U.S, as well as Norway, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Uganda, and South Africa. Digitally, her art goes around the world daily, and Wright has been interviewed on many platforms where her story has been told and her art shared. Most recently, TCB Entertainment Network invited her to turn her devotional/blogs into a radio show, “Secure Under His Wings.”

Comfort from God

But while business success is exciting, Wright finds the ministry element more exciting still. And what makes Wright especially happy is when she is able to support other ministries by giving her work to them, so that they can pass it on to others.

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Do Not Be Afraid, a most excellent counsel for today’s world. Original watercolor painting by Shawna Wright.

“My cards, bookmarks, etc. are things I would have purchased in the past and given to those who needed encouragement,” Wright says. “Now I have the ability to make my own ‘tools’ of encouragement, and can afford to give much much more away than I would have ever dreamed of doing before. It is fun to support various ministries across the nation this way.

“Thousands of note cards have gone to both men and women’s prisons, women’s shelters, addict recovery centers, food banks, first responders, and places devastated by natural disasters.

“Bible promises comfort those who are hurting in a way that nothing else can.”

Encouragement to the Encourager

Nearly every day, Wright receives a note or email telling her how her art has encouraged the recipient or viewer. At one shelter for women in recovery, a young girl had trouble sleeping in a room by herself because of anxiety from her past. Her counselor put in a print of Psalm 4:8 — In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

“It is gratifying to hear how God uses a Bible promise to encourage or comfort someone at just the right time.”

With expanding reach comes more work, Wright says, and she has hired someone to look after her bimonthly newsletter and website, as well as someone to deliver packages to the post office. A team of local volunteers helps assemble bookmarks and package cards. It is an impressive, and continuing, answer to Wright’s prayer.

“Little did I know when God inspired my prayer, ‘Lord, give me something to do for you,’ that the answer would be so big and far reaching,” Wright says.

“There is no better joy than being used as a messenger of comfort to a hurting world.

“To God by the glory!”

Wenaha GalleryShawna Wright is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from March 15 through April 11, 2022.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, 9-4 Fridays, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

 

sunflowers platter pottery judie beck

Beckoning Sunflowers — Pottery by Judie Beck

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sunflowers platter pottery judie beck

An array of sunflowers adorns a pottery platter with handles by Judie Beck.

Oftentimes, parents groan when their child comes home from school with a “project.” We know, although some teachers apparently don’t, that there will be hours of parent-time required to help, and the very prospect is daunting.

But for Judie Beck, her son’s school project, years ago, made a major change in her life.

“His class was studying American Indians, specifically the Cherokee,” the Richland, WA, pottery artist remembers.

“He wanted to make a traditional house, in which the Cherokee used saplings that they wove together, plastered with mud and roofed with bark.

“We lived in Tennessee at the time and our soil was red clay. So we dug up clay, found some nice bendable twigs that he used as the saplings, and I helped him construct the house.

“Now I don’t garden because I hate getting dirt under my fingernails, but I thoroughly enjoyed helping him manipulate the clay.”

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Mugs and bowls are among Judie Beck’s favorite pottery items to make. Sunflowers mug by Judie Beck.

So pleased was Beck by the experience that she mentioned it to a friend, who replied that she (the friend) had always wanted to take a class in pottery making from a local artist at the Oak Ridge Art Center in town. Two days later, after Beck had signed herself and friend up for the class, the friend’s response was,

“Oh my gosh! I was thinking I’d do it after the kids were grown!”

Functional Pottery with Sunflowers Design

Why wait? was Beck’s opinion, and she hasn’t stopped getting clay all over her hands ever since. (As an aside, her friend is now an instructor at the center, teaching pottery.)

Working out of a studio built into a section of her garage, Beck creates functional pottery from serving trays to lidded butter crocks, “just what I like, basically,” she explains.

“I’m always making mugs. And bowls — I love making bowls. Everyone needs bowls. Bowls hold just about anything.”

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A series of small pottery spoons, with the sunflowers motif, by Judie Beck.

Beck’s main challenge doesn’t come so much from working with the clay — which potters know can be “fussy” during the kiln firing, when pieces can explode under the high heat — but rather, from the designs she incorporates onto the finished work. Describing herself as a person who couldn’t draw a straight line with a ruler, Beck credits her friend, Irina, with the latest design of a sunflower.

“Her initial reply was, ‘Just draw one; it’s easy,’ at which I laughed. So she drew one for me to use. She’s a fabulous artist and it probably took her less than five minutes to draw the original sunflower that I am now using on my work. I call it Irina’s Sunflower.”

Patience and Persistence

Transferring the image onto each piece is time intensive, Beck says. After finalizing the design, she effectively creates a transferable decal by tracing the image onto newsprint paper, then applying multiple layers and colors of underglazing, each of which needs to fully dry before the next application.

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A French lidded butter crock with sunny yellow design by Judie Beck

When the transfers are finished she then makes the pottery pieces onto which the designs are to be applied, for example, the mugs. She throws multiple mugs, lets them dry to the proper stiffness (leather hard), makes the handles, trims the mugs, and then applies the transfers. It all takes patience, precision, and persistence.

Beck has sold her work throughout the country, including Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Arizona, and of course, Washington. Her work has been juried into the Allied Arts Gallery at the Park in Richland, where she sells through the gift shop. She also participates in festivals and fairs, focusing on three events per year: an April and October bazaar in Patterson, WA, and a November event at the Calvary Chapel in Kennewick, the Make a Difference Bazaar. Throughout the year she brainstorms on what people will buy for spring, fall, and Christmas, with some of her regular customers offering suggestions on what they want her to make.

Happy Pottery and Sunflowers

Beck also teaches classes, one on one, in her studio. Between the teaching, the three yearly events, and, of course, the actual making of pottery, she keeps plenty busy. It is a busy-ness that is satisfying, and crowning that satisfaction is knowing that the people who buy her work have an opportunity to enjoy it every day. That’s her goal: making people’s day better through pottery.

“I want my work to make people smile,” Beck says. “I want it to make them happy, every time they use it.”

That’s a good goal. And it all started with one of those school projects . . .

Wenaha GalleryJudie Beck is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from March 1 through March 28, 2022.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

beginnings flowers impressionist romantic karen powers

Flowers, Birds, and Beauty — The Photography of Karen Powers

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Beginnings, by Powers, flowers photography, represents God making a way through the darkness and helping her find her way to the light and having hope again.

Parents make a huge impact on their children’s lives. That’s one of those things we say and deep-down believe. But there are those days — we’ve all had them —  when we think, “I’m talking to the air here. I don’t think what I say or do is making any appreciable difference.”

If you’re having one of those days, think about Karen Powers, a nature photographer from Richland, WA. She is walking proof that mom’s words matter:

“When I was younger, my mom gave me an Instamatic camera as a gift,” Powers remembers.

“At summer camp I took a picture of a waterfall. Later, after the film was developed, there was a similar photo in our local newspaper.

“I still remember my mom saying that my picture was a lot better than this one in the newspaper. Well, I don’t know if she was biased or not. But I believed what she said, and that gave me confidence.”

burgundy hollyhock flowers photography romantic karen powers

Hand rendered brush strokes applied to original photograph add a sense of impressionism and romance. Burgundy Hollyhock, photography by Karen Powers.

Powers went through high school with that Instamatic. Years later, she “wore out” her first digital (dslr) camera, a gift from her husband. She launched a business doing senior portraits, wedding photography, and images for stock photography before concentrating her energy on fine art photography, with an emphasis on flowers and birds. Unsatisfied with the camera alone, she began experimenting with “developing” her images into artistic representations by incorporating digital enhancement using graphic and illustrative software.

Endless Possibilities

“By using brushes and editing techniques in the software, I fell in love with the process and endless possibilities,” Powers says.

“There is a huge learning curve, but the possibilities are absolutely limitless. After processing, each piece is a truly and completely unique piece of art.”

Powers’ studio is both outside and inside, and it all starts outside, either in her garden, where she is constantly growing new varieties of flowers to photograph, or in the mountains, through which she bikes to find wildflowers, or public and private gardens in the region. In the winter and early spring, she photographs birds. A bird feeding station outside her kitchen window attracts smaller birds, while river walks open up the world of waterfowl and birds of prey.

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Deep purple pansy blended with rich colorful tones creates a painterly effect. Drama Queen, photography by Karen Powers.

“I’m frequently thinking about how light is falling, and what a good composition would be for a certain plant.

“Typically, I look out the window, see what’s blooming, grab my camera, and go. I follow the bloom schedule of the flowers around my garden. Iris, tulips and rhododendrons in early spring; roses, calendula, daisies, dahlia, and on and on in the summer.

“I think it’s safe to say that if it’s blooming, I would love to capture it.”

Flowers in the Studio, Too

And then it’s time to move to her indoor studio, a large room in her home with two floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on an atrium filled with flowerpots and plants. An oak corner desk houses computer and digital tablet. Another desk is space for matting prints, practicing calligraphy, and dabbling with watercolors, her latest foray for enhancing photos. Her artwork covers the walls. A bookshelf groans with volume after volume on flowers, flower arranging, wildflowers, flower identification, gardening, birds, art history, and photography.

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Joyous and colorful, garden gladiolas are a Voice of Gladness, photography by Karen Powers.

“Finally, there are comfortable chairs that provide a space to just sit and ponder.”

An emerging element to Powers’ work is reprography, the process of reproducing, reprinting, or copying graphic material by mechanical, photographic, or electronic means. Working part time as the reprographics specialist at a local church, Powers has access to five separate copier machines, a Riso (mimeograph printer) machine, and an Epson large format printer.

“This has been a tremendous opportunity to apply my knowledge of digital art and to learn the geeky side and the technicalities related to the printing side of creating artwork.”

Honoring the Creator

All the observation, learning curves, research, floral and bird identification, and, ultimately, the capture of images on film and subsequent enhancement, have a central goal: that of creating a work that honors the work of the original Creator. Powers believes that God has created much beauty for us to behold as a reflection of who He is, and as an artist, she celebrates that beauty.

“He is so gracious and loving that He gives us beautiful sunsets, majestic mountains, and the most intricate, delicate flowers to top it all off.

“I try to capture some small bit of that stunning beauty to bring honor to God, the original creator.

“My desire is to share the beauty I see all around as well as a sense of peacefulness.

“I want to show viewers a place where they can step out of the traffic and rest.”

Wenaha GalleryKaren Powers is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from February 15 through March 14, 2022.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

buckskin appaloosa horse beaded suncatcher tamara reily

Winter Hawk — Beaded Jewelry by Tamara Reily

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buckskin appaloosa horse beaded suncatcher tamara reily

In Native American culture, the horse represents strength, passion, and great energy. The color of the horse, also, plays a big role in its meaning. Buckskin and Appaloosa Horse Beaded Sun Catchers by Tamara Reily

Whether or not you like winter doesn’t change the weather. What does change is how you feel about it.

And while many people groan about the cold, the long nights, the snow that makes driving difficult, Tamara Reily rejoices in the season.

“I named my business Winter Hawk because I enjoy winter time,” the Dayton, WA, bead and leather artist says.

“I love the cold crisp mornings when the frost hangs thick in the air, and the earth mother is blanketed in a white winter coat of snow. It reminds me of Alaska and all the time I spent outdoors running my dog team, exploring the frozen white wilderness that surrounded our home.

“I always have a sense of contentment while being outdoors in the wintertime.”

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The Snowy Owl represents spiritual growth, a deep change releasing a lower state of being and embracing a higher purpose. Snowy Owl Beaded Necklace by Tamara Reily.

Reily, whose heritage includes Pawnee, a Native American people who historically lived in what are now Nebraska and Kansas and later Oklahoma, also connects with the red-tailed hawk, which she says she knows as a brother.

“I love to watch the hawk fly above me high in the sky while I sit upon the earth mother. Whenever my heart is burdened with the stress life brings he flies out from the woods, finds me in my time of need. Just watching Hawk fly in circles and dip and dive takes my mind to another place, a place of peace.”

Many Animals — Much Symbolism

Another place Reily finds a sense of peace is her studio, where she creates bead and leatherwork art drawing upon the symbolism of not only the Pawnee people, but many other Native American groups of North America. In addition to fashioning numerous types of bags (medicine, gathering, pipe, tobacco) which we focused on in an earlier article, Finessing Ancient Skills in a Modern World, Reily also designs and makes necklaces, bracelets, and earrings incorporating the rich symbolism of Native American culture.

“The many animal patterns that I bead have certain symbolisms. I enjoy sharing what they are to help people learn and understand Native cultures.

“For example, there is the Snowy Owl, which represents spiritual growth. Seeing Snowy Owl represents deep change resulting in the releasing of a lower state of being and embracing your higher purpose.

“The Grey Wolf represents loyalty and success. It is powerful, and heals humans who are sick. Grey Wolf is also a teacher, pathfinder, and survivalist.

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The Sunrise Necklace incorporates the colors of dawn, which warm both summer and winter. By Tamara Reily

“The Tlingit (pronounced Klinket) Bear, as a spirit totem, as a power animal, can help teach you to trust your instincts and let go.

“And then there is the Horse, which symbolizes strength, passion, and great energy. In the Native American culture they also represent wealth and power.

“You will see a lot of my necklaces and patches with these animal totems on them.”

Winter Mountain Snow

Raised in Walla Walla, Reily has somehow or another managed to live in or near the mountains with appreciable winter snow. Years ago, she raised her children in the Yaak, a remote area of Montana, where she also began seriously beading (“working under lantern light as the long winters came and went”). From there she moved to Alaska to become a recreational dog musher, spending many winter nights running through the Alaska wilderness while the Northern Lights danced above her head.

Tlingit Bear beaded necklace tamara reily

The beaded Tlingit Bear Necklace honors the bear, a teacher who is often misunderstood. Bear is friendly, a symbol of strength learned, humility, and motherhood. By Tamara Reily

And in Dayton, in that studio of refuge, she surrounds herself with a “chaotic, creative mess.

“My studio is a small bedroom in the back of the house, where I put a small rolltop desk in a corner of the room. It has lots of drawers to put my treasures I have collected for years to use in my artwork.

“The beads I’m using for a project are spread all over the desk. Piles of leather and containers of crow beads and wampum sit near the desk. Drawers and containers of beads are in every nook and cranny of the desk. Even a few of my favorite rocks sit atop the desk.”

Every piece she creates has meaning, Reily says. And every piece represents a proud people whose culture should be remembered and honored.

Honoring a Proud People

“My people who passed on before me were from the Pawnee tribe, and making items from this tribe makes my heart happy.

“My pride for the Native Americans shows in my many items I make or bead.”

And although the winters of Dayton are milder than what Reily encountered in Montana or Alaska, it is the perfect place for doing what she does now, regardless of the season. All year round she beads. In the spring she sets up a tipi in her yard and invites people from throughout the area to gather and talk, teach, and share each other’s culture with one another. And every day, in every season, she finds opportunity to appreciate life, breath, and earth.

“Touch Mother Earth as much as you can. The soil is where we came from, and it is where we will go.

“We are a part of all things.”

Wenaha GalleryTamara Reily is the featured 3D Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from February 1, 2022 through February 28. Her 2D work, which includes leather and beadwork bags, is featured through February 14.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

beadwork leather feathers haida indigenous art raven

Beadwork: Tamara Reily Finesses Ancient Skills in a Modern World

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Raven Holding the Moon — beadwork on brain-tanned leather, with feathers, by Tamara Reily

We have no choice about who we are when we are born: our ancestry, the color of our skin and hair and eyes, who our parents are.

It’s what we do with what we have that we can be blamed for or praised for, if blame or praise are necessary. For many people, including many artists, there is a drive deep down that impels them to walk a certain path and reach for a specific goal, regardless of whether or not they are “supposed” to feel that way.

“Have you ever felt a calling that you just had to follow?” asks Tamara Reily, a “mountain woman at heart” who has been creating beadwork and leatherwork for more than 40 years. Some would say that, because the Dayton, WA, artist is Pawnee (an indigenous group of people native to the Oklahoma region), she does this because it is in her blood. Others would argue that because she is not full-blooded Pawnee, she should not pursue the path she does. Still others, a small but not vocal enough minority, would observe that it’s nobody’s business to dissect the inner workings of an individual human soul. Reily does what she does because, deep down, she feels a connection to the people of her past.

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A deer antler skinning knife. The fully beaded scabbard is made from brain-tanned deer leather and deer horn, by Tamara Reily

“My family line follows many paths — Native American Pawnee, French, and Dutch. As a young adult I found out my grandfather was Pawnee but not a full-blood; that comes from my great grandma — she was a full-blood Pawnee.

“I always knew this, from way down deep inside me.”

Mountain Living and Beadwork

From the time she was a child, Reily has pursued a path of being outdoors, learning from nature, studying the ways of the Pawnee, growing toward and into the person she feels within her heart that she is meant to be. She raised her three children in the mountains of Montana in an area called the Yaak, where the family had no running water, electricity or phone. At the age of 40, she moved to Alaska to become a dog musher. While there, she was invited to be a drum leader, and traveled around with other musicians to powwows and gatherings. Wherever she has lived she has set up space for beadwork and leatherwork, focusing on both traditional techniques as well as fusions of design representing both old and new.

“My beadwork and leatherwork represent a proud people to me, whose culture should be honored. For example, the many types of leather bags I make have a different purpose in the everyday life of the Native people. There are gathering bags, medicine bags, pipe bags, tobacco bags. I try to make each as traditional as possible and do it with respect and honor.”

black horse spirit beadwork bag tamara reily

The black horse spirit, according to Reilly, symbolizes strength and passion that will carry through the most difficult times. Spirit Horse Beadwork Bag, hand-crafted by Tamara Reily.

Reily sells her work at powwows and craft festivals in Montana, Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. She noticed that in many of the places where she sells, she is one of the few offering beadwork, which she believes is a dying art.

“Beadwork is hard to make and very time consuming, and it takes a lot of patience. Each piece of work is time and history repeating itself, honoring my native culture.”

Rich History Based upon Ancient Wisdom

The various motifs she creates have individual stories, rich histories based upon ancient legend that has been passed down through generations. For example, her Mishibeshu Beadwork Pipe Bag pattern features the “underwater lynx” known to the ancient Ojibwe as one of the great powers of Lake Superior. A representation of water and waves rests near his feet. Beneath that is a “shield” with a portrait of two women, symbolic of strength and continuity. Seven feathers at the bottom represent Reily (whose gifted name is Painted Feather) and her six siblings.

mishipeshu pepe beadwork bag ojibewe tamara reily

Incorporating numerous motifs, the Mishipeshu Pipe Bag draws upon the legends of the ancient Ojibewe on Lake Superior. By Tamara Reily

She is not bound to one inflexible interpretation of an animal or a symbol, she adds, because the indigenous people of North America were not so bound:

“Consider the turtle, a sacred creature among Native American tribes. Each tribe has a cultural view of the turtle, slightly different. The deeper meaning, however, remains the same.

“To me the meaning signifies good health and long life. So when I gift or sell a turtle rattle I am also gifting good health and long life.

“Turtle also teaches us to walk our paths in life in peace. I always teach this in ceremonies: walk in peace.”

No End of Ideas

With a never ending list of things she likes to make, Reily foresees that she will be creating beadwork “forever.”  And that is a path she makes a choice to walk. It is part of her belief system, one that defines the steps that she takes:

“Follow one path no matter where it leads you. This is your journey in life. You have been down it before, and you have a chance to find yourself.”

It’s the choices we make that shape who we are.

Wenaha GalleryTamara Reily is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from January 18, 2022 through February 14.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

 

hiking mountains landscape forest woods pastel kingman

Determined and Persistent: Pastels by Marlene Kingman

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hiking mountains landscape forest woods pastel kingman

Camping and hiking provide excellent opportunities for pastel artist Marlene Kingman to capture the landscape on paper. Hiking Trip, original pastel painting by Marlene Kingman.

You wouldn’t think it would be necessary to say this, but it is:

Not everyone likes doing the same things.

And if you don’t — when you don’t — fit into the paradigm that society or its establishments determines as the norm, you either have to be very determined (“difficult,” some people say) or go in a direction you don’t like. Artist Marlene Kingman opted to do the former.

“As early as elementary school, I realized that art and creativity were my preferred classes,” the Richland, WA, pastel and oil painter says.

“I tolerated math and science, but what I really focused on were the classes in art and music.”

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It’s a quiet moment, of of stillness and calm in Marlene Kingman’s original pastel painting, Coastal Bog Evening.

In a world where science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) stand on pedestals, Kingman’s statement verges on blasphemous, but throughout her life, she has remained committed to the world of art. It started with those elementary and later high school classes, when, along the way, an exceptional art teacher allowed her access to the studio while other children were at recess. Later, she studied Fine Art in college, but life being what it is, changed her major to Commercial Design and then Architecture, resulting in a career that was “totally contrary to artwork,” as she describes it. It took an extra dose of determination to keep her skills in art not just alive, but thriving.

Determined to Create Art

“Throughout my architectural career, I continued to work in pastels and photography to maintain a creative venue,” she explains. During that time as well, she met other artists who encouraged her through teaching and example. One of those was Ruth Stromswold, an area painter who taught art following the Renaissance method.

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Light and shadows interplay over and around a trio of pears in Marlene Kingman’s original pastel painting, Unwrapped.

“This process starts with studying value, composition, rhythm, unity, balance, and harmony necessary for a painting to capture and hold a viewer’s attention.

“For over four years, I attended regularly scheduled classes learning both oil and pastel painting.”

She also attended and continues to attend workshops, both in plein air and studio settings, under Jim Lamb, Leslie Cain, Paul Murray, Wally Mann, and Richard McKinley.

“I recognize that masters of any profession achieve their talent through continued education.”

Fully Immersed in the Moment

Mount Rainier wilderness landscape forest pastel kingman

Mt Rainier is a place one wants to immerse oneself in, as Marlene Kingman does in her pastel painting, Mt. Rainier.

Now retired, Kingman is finally able to immerse herself in her artwork, and divides her time between painting, volunteering at the Gallery at the Park in Richland, camping, hiking, and traveling to the various galleries where her art is shown. Although she enjoys working in both the studio and out on the field, there is a persistent tug about plein air painting that prompts her to shut the door to her studio and head out into the wild, paints and pastels in hand.

“My most enjoyable moments as an artist are when I do plein air painting.

“There is nothing that equates to doing a sketch or painting while being totally immersed in the surrounding environment.

“I find plein air painting the most challenging but rewarding experience of capturing the essence of the environment into your work.”

Reaping the Benefits of Being Determined

Kingman is a member of numerous art societies, including Plein Air of Washington, the Northwest Pastel Society, Arizona Pastel Society, and the Pastel Society of the West Coast. She has participated in juried shows throughout the Pacific Northwest, and for the last 12 years has been a part of the Kennewick, WA, First Thursday Art Walk Tour at You and I Gallery.

She could have given up at the beginning; lots of people do. But Kingman, like many artists, refused to let the creative element in her bow to the pressures, and paradigms, of societal “norms.” And so throughout her life, she has made a place for art in her life, and now, in this sweet time of retirement that really isn’t retirement because she’s incredibly busy pursuing her second career, she reaps the benefit of determination and persistence.

“All forms of art are challenging,” Kingman observes. “As best described by Edgar Degas, ‘Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.’

“Art is where my heart and soul find the greatest satisfaction.”

Wenaha GalleryMarlene Kingman is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from December 14, 2021 through January 17, 2022.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

hare rabbit bunny victorian drawing keith harrop

Unique Victorian Memories: Alligators in Top Hats & Swans in Long Dresses

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An elegant hare stands, relaxed with paws in pockets, and stares at the viewer. Antiqued Victorian-style drawing by Keith Harrop

Imagine that you’re in your attic, whether or not you have one. In the corner, there’s an old box. And inside the box are photos of people from 150 years ago, from the Victorian era of England.

Only they’re not people; they’re animals. There’s an alligator in a top hat. A hare, paws in pocket, with a golden chain to his watch fob. A kingfisher in long dress, sitting by a pond.

Who are these . . . people? Are they relatives? And if so, from mom’s side or dad’s?

kingfisher bird dress pond drawing Victorian keith harrop

In the perfect hat and elegant dress, a kingfisher sits with pole by the pond. Victorian-style drawing by Keith Harrop.

You have just entered the Anicurio Collection of Keith Harrop, a North Idaho artist who, since his childhood in Stoke-on-Trent, England, has peopled his world with unique characters from his imagination. As a young boy, he worked under self-enforced weekly deadlines, creating comic books that he published for an audience of one, his older brother, Steve.

Determination and Imagination

“My family was poor,” Harrop remembers. “But oddly, I never actually realized we were until many years later. I know that may sound strange. But we were so loved and cared for by our parents that it was never relevant. We just accepted what we had.”

And while what he didn’t have a lot of were artist materials, that lack didn’t stop him from spending almost every night drawing and painting.

“I didn’t have a sketchbook, so I would spend a lot of time drawing on the back of long pieces of old, rolled up wall paper.

“I do remember my first sketchbook. My Dad, who worked for a bus company, made it for me. The pages were old bus timetables, blank on one side and print on the other. A cardboard cover and shoe laces holding it together. I filled that book from beginning to end with ideas and sketches.

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Sisters? Friends? Two swans in elegant dress stand side by side for the camera. Victorian-style drawing by Keith Harrop.

“But I packed my creative side away as I grew older. England has a way of doing that to you.”

Upon emigrating to the U.S. in his adulthood, however, Harrop picked up pencil and paintbrush again, reconnecting with his old self and making art a central part of his life. He became art director and creative director in the places he worked, and eventually transitioned to full-time independent artist.

The Anicurio Victorian Collection

“My paintings deal each with one moment, one story, or one emotion only,” Harrop says. The Anicurio Collection, which he developed last year, grew out of his enthrallment with old, stained, and aged Victorian and Edwardian photos.

“I’m fascinated with the introduction of photography to the Victorian Era. It was the first time that people of all classes could enjoy equality because previously, only the rich were able to present themselves in portraiture, via oil paintings.

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The top of fashion, an elegant alligator sits with cane and smile. Victorian-style drawing by Keith Harrop.

“But now, if only for an instant, people of all classes could wear their nicest outfit, stand in front of the same backdrop, and present themselves in their best light. Almost eliminating social class.”

And so he created his own Victorian and Edwardian images, with the unique twist that his subjects are animals. Well-dressed animals.

“I want this series to suggest something that was rediscovered by the viewer. An inherited artifact from a mysterious benefactor?” Or something stumbled upon in that musty attic, laying at the bottom a chest, buried beneath old dusty clothes and fading hand-written notes.

“Each original illustration is carefully hand drawn in pencil,” Harrop says. “Once finished, I age and treat them with various dye methods, to resemble an old, dusty, antique, Victorian photograph.” Tea, coffee, soy sauce, or lemon juice and a heat gun transform a drawing finished five minutes ago to an historical image long buried in an aging chest.

A Positive Reception

Harrop introduced the collection in the second quarter of 2021 by sending out postcard samples. Gratified by their reception, he developed a line of prints and post cards. He recently showed these at the Museum of Art and Culture in Spokane, in conjunction with the Downton Abbey exhibit there. He sells his work throughout the U.S., as well as to collectors in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Denmark.

Like people in old photographs, each character in Harrop’s Anicurio Collection has a story. And, like the people who discover those old photos, we often don’t know what that story is, who those . . . people are. That’s the delight of it — creating the stories, using our imaginations, joining with Harrop in exploring this magical, mythical Victorian world.

But first, it would be good to determine: are they from mom’s side, or dad’s?

Wenaha GalleryKeith Harrop is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from December 1, 2021 through January 3, 2022.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

 

 

chocolate labrador dog ringneck ducks wildlife painting catherine temple

Conventional Advice Is for the Birds — Wildlife Art by Catherine Temple

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chocolate labrador dog ringneck ducks wildlife painting catherine temple

As an entry to the Washington State duck stamp contest, Chocolate Lab and Ring-necked Ducks was the 2019/20 winner. Original acrylic painting by Catherine Temple. It pays to ignore conventional advice.

When you follow conventional advice, you generally get conventional results.

Some people are fine with this, but others . . . aren’t. They have a dream, a desire, a goal that impels them through each day, and regardless of how many people tell them what they want is impossible, even silly, they keep striving.

“From early on, I knew that I wanted to be an artist and that animals and birds of all kinds would be my subject matter, but it took a good number of years for my dream to become a reality,” says Catherine Temple, an acrylic painter from Clarkston, WA, who focuses on wildlife artwork and pet portraits.

“While many people thought I had a lot of talent, they weren’t very encouraging of my dream to be a wildlife artist. It could be a nice hobby, I was told, but it wouldn’t earn me a living.

“For years, I tried to go the conventional route with things, but it never worked out well.”

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Green is the backdrop for a contemplative bird in Catherine Temple’s original acrylic painting, Sunlight and Shadows

It didn’t work out well because Temple refused to give up. She kept painting, focusing on what she loved, what she knew. And what Temple — who grew up on a farm with a father who had a passion for exotic animals — loved was the outdoors, wildlife, animals of all kinds.

A Flamingo among the Chickens

“Our backyard was full of a diverse array of birds and beasts. Flamingos lived near cows and chickens. Small Sika deer lived near exotic pheasants and ducks. There was plenty to inspire me.”

When the farmyard wasn’t enough, Temple wandered off to the wetlands and pastures near her home and built a makeshift blind. There, she sat and observed nature in quiet study. For hours at a time she lost herself watching frogs and dragonflies, birds and snakes.

“It didn’t really matter what creature it was, it eventually made it onto the pages of my sketchbook.” She knew, just knew, that she needed to be an artist.

But, as conventional advice warns, you can’t make a living as an artist. At least that’s what “they” say. Fortunately for Temple, other voices were stronger.

“The animals and birds and wild places continued to call strongly to me, and I would find myself frustrated and unhappy with trying to be something I wasn’t.

“I almost gave up on the dream, but then God opened a door for me.”

ducks waterfowl birds wildlife catherine temple

It takes patience and a soft step to capture wildlife in its home, and Catherine Temple has both. Wetland Jewels, original acrylic painting.

She had painted a portrait of her beloved dog, Jake. People seeing it asked if she were able to paint their pets as well. Soon, she was taking commissions and handling a growing client list. At the same time, she kept painting wildlife, because she simply wouldn’t, couldn’t give up. And in 2016, God opened another door through the duck stamp competition. (As an aside, federal and state duck stamps are not postage stamps, but permits for waterfowl hunters. They additionally offer an opportunity for artists to showcase their work, collectors to enjoy it, and the environment to benefit with sale proceeds dedicated to acquiring and protecting wetland habitat.)

From Pet Portraits to Duck Stamps

“I heard about a duck stamp contest for the state of Delaware. The stamp was to feature a Chesapeake Bay Retriever with Canvasback ducks. I had already been painting many hunting dogs with birds in my pet portrait business, so this seemed a good fit for me. Also, the featured dog was the exact breed I owned, giving me more incentive to give this contest a try.”

marsh wren bird wildlife wetlands painting Catherine Temple

Marsh Wren, original acrylic painting by Catherine Temple

Knowing that duck stamp contests drew some of the best wildlife artists in the country, Temple hoped, at worst, that she wouldn’t embarrass herself, and at best, she would win. She didn’t do the first, but she did do the second.

“When I got the call that I was the winner, I could scarcely breathe. That win changed a lot for me.

“Suddenly, I went from fighting for my dream all those years to stepping into the realm of a recognized wildlife artist!”

Two years later she won her second duck stamp contest for the state of Washington and took second for the Michigan Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Print. She began receiving invitations for solo shows and more contests. Presently, several of her pieces are being considered for the Ducks Unlimited National Art Package.

Unconventional, and Blessed

“I feel I have been particularly blessed and privileged to live in an area where I have access to so much of God’s magnificent creation,” Temple says, adding that almost every wildlife painting she creates comes from a personal experience with that bird or animal.

“It is because of these blessings that I feel compelled to create paintings that showcase God’s handiwork.

“Through my art I hope to bring the wild things to those who may not have the opportunity to experience it for themselves.”

And it all started because she refused to be conventional.

Wenaha GalleryCatherine Temple is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from November 16 through December 13, 2021.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

 

 

candles self love natural beeswax healing sierra faflik

Natural and Calm — Candles and More by Sierra Faflik

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candles self love natural beeswax healing sierra faflik

Faflik’s self-love candles feature natural beeswax, botanicals, crystals, and a pendant.

“Do you want fries with that?”

It’s a familiar question for anyone ordering a fast-food burger, and as a statement it accurately represents the iconic “American” way of life. Fast food, hectic schedule, overworked, overanxious, stressed out, and, most lately, pumped with fear.

For this reason, it’s time to change that question to one that is more meaningful, and well, essential:

“Do you want some peace today? Or calm? Tranquility? Serenity?

beeswax candles natural colorful sierra faflik gifts

Faflik creates blends of colors that are rich and deep for her candles made from natural and white beeswax.

“Maybe even a little happiness?”

And while politicians, techno-magnates and mega-corporations eschew concern for this question, everyday people are looking for the answer. Sierra Faflik understands this deep, driving need to find peace, having embarked on that journey long ago. The Dayton, WA, artist focuses on using natural ingredients, herbs and botanicals, crystals, and scents that don’t overpower the senses when she creates her candles, personal care products, and jewelry.

Getting in Touch with the Natural World

“My artwork is about relaxation, self love, and getting in touch with ourselves and the world around us,” Faflik says.

“With the constant bombardment of distractions and stressors associated with modern life, it’s easy to forget the natural beauty that surrounds us. My hope is that by lighting a unique candle, drawing a bath with salts and flowers, or wearing a calming crystal in some form, we can have a second to slow down and be reminded of that beauty.”

candles tins apricot coconut wax sierra faflik

Faflik uses a combination of apricot and coconut wax for her tinned candles. She embellishes these with botanicals and crystals.

As a dispatcher with Columbia County, Faflik is aware of what stress looks like. And with a background in personal training, she knows the importance of de-stressing, eating real food, and seeking out natural, non-chemical-laden products for consumption and use. For her candles, she uses a blend of apricot and coconut wax, or beeswax.

“When I first began making candles in 2015, I would get any candle wax I could find and use it.

“As I began researching different ingredients, I discovered that most of what is available at stores (whether raw ingredients or finished products) is full of lots of harmful chemicals and is not something you want burning in your home.

Organic Herbs and Botanicals

“To most of my container candles and my plain pillar molds, I add various organic herbs and flowers as an embellishment, as well as specific crystals.

“I do this so that when paired with a particular color or scent, the candles will be for a specific purpose or intention.”

bath salts himalayan crystals calm relaxing sierra faflik

Lightly scented and embellished with botanicals, Faflik’s bath salts do not have the strong artificial scent of industrial made products.

As an example, she says, her self-love and relaxation candles are lightly scented with floral overtones. She chooses soft, calming colors such as white, light pink, or lavender and adds rose petals and lavender botanicals. The crystals she chooses are traditionally associated with certain properties, such as amethyst to remove negativity, or emerald and rose quartz for love.

When Faflik first started creating, she did so out of necessity. As a teenager she experimented with jewelry when she couldn’t find styles that fit who she was and what she liked. Bath salts she embarked upon several years ago because she couldn’t stand the overpowering scents of commercial products.

“My baseline mixture is Epsom salts, pink Himalayan sea salt, various essential oils, and a small amount of baking soda to counteract the oils.

“When I was pregnant, I was researching how much is absorbed into our bodies through our skin. I began adding various herbs and flowers to the salts to help further the detoxification and relaxation that come with a calming bath.”

Researching is Natural to Her

When Faflik talks about her art, the word “research” comes up a lot. An avid reader who is not afraid of questioning the status quo or media-approved narrative, she appreciates independent sites and maverick writers and thinkers. These provide perspective in a world where only certain voices, generally associated with industry and big business, are promoted.

“I use natural products for several reasons. I first began going ‘back to the basics’ with food, when I realized that our bodies don’t know how to recognize artificial ingredients and overly processed foods. That research sent me down a rabbit hole of how our bodies respond to so many of the chemically derived artifacts we use every day.

“Basically, I try to use ingredients for all my projects that someone could eat and not have any discomfort from. I want to add joy to people’s lives, not more stress.”

Wenaha GallerySierra Faflik is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from November 2 through November 29, 2021.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.

 

 

 

 

fence landscape corvallis outside sunset painting montgomery

Outside Adventure — Impressionist Landscapes by LR Montgomery

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The last light of the waning sun dances across the landscape. Last Light at Corvallis, original oil painting by LR Montgomery

Get outside.

It’s not bad advice, and we could probably figure out, without promotional public service announcements, that nature is a healing place to be. It’s calm, quiet, and peaceful – three inducements to thinking and reflection. For fine art painters, getting outside is a means of capturing the moment so that when people see the artwork, though they are stuck in an office on a rainy day, they can escape to a place worth being in.

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A slow-moving river invites the viewer to slow down as well and enjoy the sense of quiet and peace. Warm Hearts, original oil painting by LR Montgomery

“I paint original impressionist landscapes with emotion,” says LR Montgomery, an oil painter from Spokane, WA, who enjoys both plein air and studio work.

“My landscapes show the hidden secrets of our forests, ponds, tributaries, rivers, boulders and open spaces.

“They express the joy of being outdoors.”

Celebrating Nature with Paint

Montgomery’s personal philosophy is to create uplifting images that generate a feeling of well-being and reflect the beauty of God’s creation. At the same time, he also wants to draw people’s attention to the fragility and sustainability of our natural environments. If we pave over forests and build high-rise corporate buildings in the meadows, we lose precious resources that we can never get back.

So . . . Montgomery actively seeks out and finds the unspoiled, natural places. His happiest painting moments, he says, are those spent outside, regardless of the weather.

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The colors of spring create an almost audible melody in LR Montgomery’s original oil painting, Spring Birch at Slavin

“I can be found painting out of doors at zillions of Northwest natural areas. I am the Artist in Residence for Dishman Hills Conservancy, so I paint there often.

“Most recently, I have been painting the Palouse, Lake Chatcolet, Spokane River, Little Spokane River, the hills west of Corvallis, OR, and anywhere grapes grow.”

It’s not only when he’s behind the easel that Montgomery enjoys the outdoors. He spends significant time hiking, canoeing, and kayaking throughout the Pacific Northwest, and those outside experiences, eventually, find themselves as paint on canvas or panel.

Getting Outside as Often as He Can

“My art reflects the joy of outdoor adventures.

“Additionally, collectors and organizations often ask me to paint the areas they love or represent. I accept a very limited number of commissions a year.”

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A bracing blue sky adds to the sense of light and outdoor peace. Blue Halo at Painted Rocks, original oil painting, by LR Montgomery.

Montgomery’s collectors include private individuals, corporations, environmental groups, museums, and educational institutions throughout the U.S., Europe, Russia, China, Mexico, Africa, and Japan. In the Pacific Northwest, his work is in collections at Kaiser Permanente, Spokane Eye Clinic, Pacific Lutheran University, Washington State University, the city of Spokane, Loyola Marymount University, Shriners Children’s Hospital, Providence Medical Center, and the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture.

“Art is a happy business. People collect it because it brings joy, enhances life, or reflects personal experiences.”

Some families, he adds, have collected his work for generations, and to this day, he remembers the name of his first collector.

“Her name was Helen. I was 12 years old when I painted a watercolor of a cougar, which she and her husband acquired. They inspired my love for the outdoors and being outside in nature through their lifestyle and encouragement.”

In fact, his wife Carole swears that he was born with a crayon in his hand. Her assessment is understandable, given her partnership with him in the painting business: he paints, she is his manager. That responsibility requires as much flexibility, adaptability, creativity, and easygoing humor as wielding the brush.

An Artistic Marriage

“She never knows what will happen next. She may have to drop what she is doing at a moment’s notice to attend to the whims of the art business.

“The left brain of our marriage, she is a great supporter of our creative lifestyle. Her support allows me to focus on painting with purpose.”

And that purpose — celebrating the outdoor world, focusing on nature, pointing people’s hearts toward beauty — is well worth taking time to focus upon. Whether he’s in the comfort of the studio or out on the river bank, doing emergency repairs on the legs of an easel, Montgomery draws upon, and draws viewers into, a world that is far, far from the madding crowd, and crowds, period.

“My paintings bring the ambiance and memories of outdoor experience in. Collectors say they can hear the water and smell the forest.”

Wenaha GalleryLR Montgomery is the featured Art Event at Wenaha Gallery from October 19 through November 15, 2021.

Contact the gallery, located at 219 East Main Street, Dayton, WA, by phone at 509.382.2124 or e-mail art@wenaha.com. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and by appointment. Visit the Wenaha Gallery website online at www.wenaha.com.