PORT ANGELES — Four years ago, the downtown galleries along Port Angeles’ Art Walk bustled with 40 to 50 people, Landing Artists Studio owner Pamela Dick recalled.
Now, four to five people typically participate in the self-guided walk on the second Saturday of each month, she said.
Dick believes the dwindling attendance resulted from downtown galleries splitting between Friday and Saturday art walks. Dwindling attendance, in turn, caused some participating venues to drop out, she said.
But for the first time in four years, several art venues within walking distance of Railroad Avenue have united to participate in Second Weekend Art Walk on Saturday, Dick said.
Those downtown venues include Studio Bob, Harbor Art, Landing Artists Studio and One of a Kind Art Gallery.
Imagine It Framed and 2nd Friday Art Rock (2FAR) will offer events this evening as usual.
With the addition of One of a Kind to Saturday’s roster, Dick said she and other downtown gallery owners hope other venues within walking distance of Railroad Avenue will join, too.
“We will never get the public response like Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo, but we used to have a blast walking from place to place, sampling food and looking at the featured artists,” she said. “We want to get back to that, so this is an exciting first step back to those fun times.”
Attractions at this weekend’s Art Walk include:
• Studio Bob, 118½ E. Front St., will feature “New Expressions,” paintings by students of artist Jeff Tocher.
The event opens during Art Walk, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and continues Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.
Tocher has taught art classes through Peninsula College’s continuing education program for the past two years. He also offers private classes.
Tocher’s students range in age from 4 to 84 years old, according to a press release.
“Jeff teaches each student uniquely, bringing out their own artistic expression with enchanted techniques and confidence building,” according to the release.
• Bar N9NE, 229 W. First St., also will feature Tocher — the teacher’s art, rather than his students’ — and Port Angeles band Raygun Carver at 9 p.m. today for 2nd Friday Art Rock (2FAR).
A $3 cover charge will go to the musicians and artist.
Tocher’s “famous whit and whimsy”-style paintings will be on display as he blends color and creates new dimensions, according to a press release.
Raygun Carver describes itself as an alt-country, dream pop and Americana band. The members include Erin Tonnenson (lead guitar and vocals), Rielly Peavy (bass, piano and vocals), Stew Mueller (drums, vocals), Michael Soiseth (guitar, harmonica and vocals) and Enoch Bowlby (lead guitar and vocals).
• Harbor Art, 110 E. Railroad Ave., will feature Tammy Hall’s art, of which her driftwood sculptures are most renowned.
Hall also works in media such as pen and ink, scratch-board, oils, acrylics, collage, assemblage and clay.
“Since about the age of 3, I have been driven to make art, and if I didn’t have art supplies, I used whatever I could find,” Hall said in a press release.
“This is probably why I still am drawn to the challenge of making art from found objects or non-traditional art supplies.”
Hall currently lives on the North Olympic Peninsula with her husband, cat and several rooms of art supplies and found objects, she said.
An artist reception will be held for Hall from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.
• Imagine It Framed, 625 E. Front St., will feature aerial photographer Johann Klaassen for its last Art Walk of the season from 6 to 7 tonight.
Klaassen was born, raised and educated in Iowa. His interest in photography began at a young age, and he polished his self-taught skills with a degree from the University of Iowa during the 1980s.
Love for flying became a natural companion for his photography, and he began to shoot farm aerials after college. The aerial shots soon grew to encompass landscaping photography and have become a staple of his work.
Today, he resides in Brinnon with wife Cathie, three dogs and one cat.
“Klaassen gives total credit for his work to God, the Creator of the views, the Creator of his talent,” according to a press release.
• The Landing Artists Studio, 115 E. Railroad Ave. Suite 103, will host a book signing for local author Allyn M. Cowan.
From 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Cowan will sign copies of her book “The Inside Poop on Keeping Your Dog Roadworthy.”
Cowan has lived in Port Angeles with her husband, Myles, and her dog, Dougie Bowser, for the past six years.
In Port Angeles, Allyn is best known for her tongue-in-cheek pet paintings, shown at several Pacific Northwest galleries, according to a press release.
She’s reached the “nth” years, as in “Nth Years Old,” but is happy to report that she’s been successfully inhaling and exhaling — in spite of the odds — for longer than half a century, according to the release.
Soon after moving to the area from the East Coast, it became apparent to Allyn that she must have a dog, “’cause it’s the law here.”
She claims she had no idea that owning a dog could be so hilarious, and Dougie Bowser has not let her down.
Her modern guide to dog ownership will most assuredly make a dog owner’s job a lot more complicated than it has to be.
• One of a Kind Art Gallery, 115 E. Railroad Ave., will offer free cookies from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Art Walk attendees also can stop in for beverages, including coffee and spirits. A cup of coffee comes with a donation to the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society.
Artists at One of a Kind include Pam Fries, Antonia Busonera, Helena Rose, Maria Cook, Linda Norris, Annie Sumpter, Hazelle Hout and Pamela Dick, according to a press release.
No single artist will be featured during the gallery’s first Art Walk under new ownership.
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Reporter Sarah Sharp can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at ssharp@peninsula dailynews.com.
One of Jeff Tocher’s students, John Christensen, works on a painting. Art Walk at Studio Bob, 118½ E. Front St., will feature “New Expressions,” paintings by Tocher’s students. The event opens Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and continues Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. (Jeff Tocher)
