SEQUIM — The Blue Whole Gallery will feature Julie Senf and Ryoko Toyama during the month of September.
Both are known for their water-media paintings inspired by the North Olympic Peninsula, “where the mountains meet the sea.”
Members of the artist co-op located in the heart of downtown Sequim at 129 W Washington St., welcome the community to the new exhibit.
Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
The featured artists will be at the gallery to meet the public from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday during the First Friday Art Walk.
Senf has lived in, played in and explored the great Olympic Peninsula for over 40 years, she said.
“So much diversity is here, in an all-inclusive and beautifully wrapped package I call ‘the OP.’ … It will take me many, many lifetimes to try and capture this amazing corner of our earth and I will endeavor to do so with much joy and fun.”
Her work also can be seen at the One of a Kind Art Gallery at 115 E Railroad Ave., Suite 105 and at Lola’s Cafe, 112 S. Lincoln St, both in Port Angeles.
Finding inspiration
Toyama said that “Mediums and techniques I apply to my paintings continue to evolve while the purpose remains the same, that is, creation of emotional reality.“Living on the beautiful Peninsula, even daily routines become the source of inspiration.”
Her paintings also have been exhibited at the Northwind Arts Center in Port Townsend.
Currently, she is affiliated with the Artists of Washington online gallery at www.artistsofwashington.com/ryokotoyama.
They have been in such juried shows as California Watercolor Society, Kitsap Art & Crafts Festival, Peninsula Art League in Gig Harbor, Olympia Art Association in Olympia, Collective Visions Gallery in Bremerton, Arts and Music Exhibition at House of Norway in Poulsbo, Sequim Arts, Sequim Civic Center Rotating Gallery by the City Arts Advisory Commission, and Winslow Art Center in Bainbridge.

