PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend Gallery Walk returns this Saturday.
The Gallery Walk, lasting from 5:30 p.m. until about 8 p.m., encompasses several downtown venues, all of which charge no admission to see the art and meet the artists who create it.
Here is a sampling of events:
New Simpson exhibit
The Jefferson Museum of Art & History at 540 Water St. will feature a new exhibit, “Pat and Peter Simpson: Collectors and Patrons.”
The exhibit includes artwork from the Simpson Collection, which was donated to the Jefferson County Historical Society by the Simpson estate.
It also has more recent work by the same artists.
“By showing some more contemporary work, we get a bit of a survey of those artists and how their work has progressed,” said curator Ann Welch.
A major piece by Stephen Yates was created specifically for the exhibit.
Artists include Yates, Tom Wilson, Jo Ann Alber, Kate Jenks, Anne Hirondelle, Stephanie Lutgring, Linda Okazaki, Galen Garwood and Ed Cain.
A companion book written by Mary Coney and Jenny Westdal and designed by Ann Welch has been published.
It includes in-depth biographies of the artists and of Peter and Pat Simpson, civic and cultural leaders who were instrumental in the transformation of Port Townsend.
The authors will sign books during Art Walk from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Gordon, Conway on display
Gallery 9 will feature two artists representing both 2-D and 3-D art.
Marcy Gordon will show new watercolor paintings and Jim Conway will present a collection of turned wood pieces.
The public is invited to join Gordon and Conway in discussing their work during Gallery Walk at 1012 Water St.
Gordon began her artistic career training and painting in oils.
However, after exploring botanical illustration at the University of Washington, she discovered watercolor and fell in love with the medium, she said.
Along with this new passion, she also discovered the joy of teaching and went on to teach watercolor illustration for more than 25 years, she added.
Gordon is currently offering a class at the Port Townsend School of the Arts titled “Botanical Illustration in Watercolor.”
Conway is Gallery 9’s newest member. He joined the group in February.
A native of El Paso Valley in Texas, Conway returned to the Northwest after an absence of 40 years.
Conway brings a new 3-D art form to the gallery mix, presenting wood objects turned on a lathe.
His diverse collection includes bowls, platters, goblets, bottle stoppers and one-of-a-kind pens.
Conway said, “I have always had an appreciation for the inherent beauty of wood, and I choose my raw material to show off that beauty.
“I let the wood take center stage and show itself off to the beholder.”
See gallery-9.com or call 360-379-8881 for more information.
Fredrick, Carrico at PT Gallery
The Port Townsend Gallery will feature the work of painter Nancy Fredrick and printmaker Phil Carrico during Saturday’s Art Walk.
The Port Townsend Gallery is located at 715 Water St.
Fredrick has painted and drawn landscapes for the past 45 years.
She studied art at Cabrillo College and the University of California. Before moving to Port Townsend almost 12 years ago, she had a studio in the Santa Cruz Mountains on land owned by The Big Creek Timber Co.
Fredrick will show a selection of her favorite landscapes. Some of them are from the Port Townsend area; others are from travels on the coast between Big Sur and the Olympic Peninsula.
As a printmaker, Carrico relies on his surroundings to give him inspirations for his works.
In Port Townsend, he found the stimulus he needed in the Olympic Mountains as well as such structures as lighthouses and sea life, he said.
During Art Walk, Carrico will present “Moonstruck,” a 13-color original reduction woodcut print, and “My Little Chicadee,” a nine-color original reduction woodcut print.
He is now working on a 15-color reduction woodcut print of an octopus.
For more gallery information, phone 360-379-8110 or go to www.port townsendgallery.com.
A bowl created by Jim Conway will be on display at Gallery 9 on Saturday during Port Townsend’s April Gallery Walk.
A painting of a chickadee by Phil Carrico will be shown at the Port Townsend Gallery on Saturday during Gallery Walk.
