This week I spent in the Seattle area visiting family and friends. It is a visual treat to be in the PNW in Summer. The first morning I was awed when I opened my door and a bald eagle flew over my head! I made trips as north as Anacortes to visit my uncle where I saw an old painting of mine—Sleep—hanging on his walls. We took a short hike in Sharpe’s Park to a look out over the San Juan Islands. I made a ferry ride South to Gig Harbor to visit friends and be dazzled by Mount Rainer floating as though it had been painted on the sky. I did a low tide beach walk at Richmond Beach Saltwater Park where I saw Peregrine Falcon and a heron! And also found myself one afternoon looking at the views from the beach town of Alki in West Seattle. Summer in the PNW is truly spectacular!
Sleep, oil on linen, 24 in x 36 in Painted around 2013 or 2014 i think?
Despite bringing along a sketchbook, workbook, notepad, and iPad with the intention of spending some quiet time to myself working and thinking I instead found no time and that I had a fried brain from poor sleep while traveling. All those items stayed packed away, unused. While away from L.A. the ETBTKS show opened! Yay! I’m sad to have missed the opening but i did peruse the show online at the La Luz de Jesus Gallery’s website. I look forward to visiting in person before it closes at the end of August. By Wednesday I had returned home and was playing with paint—pushing it around with no plan or desired outcomes. I can’t say it made for good art but it was meditative and let my brain freely wander and wonder. Also on Wednesday the Spring Hopper Prize recipients and shortlist was announced—check out the winners here!
My random Wednesday with paint. My favorite is the one on the left which I painted on my glass palette before cleaning up
There are deadlines quickly approaching for fellowships and prizes I need to be working on but really I want to soak up these last few weeks of Summer! Try to relax, store up some sunshine and long days to feed me in the coming months.
Location: Bloedel Conservatory on Bainbridge Island, WA
Fee: $20
Deadline: September 1, 2024
Sticking to all things PNW this week’s open call is a residency at the Bloedel Conservatory on Bainbridge Island, a suburb of Seattle. Exert from the website:
The Creative Residency program provides artists and innovative thinkers with a three-week stay in a home on the Bloedel Reserve grounds, pictured here. Residents have unlimited access to the Reserve’s 140 acres of sculpted gardens, forests, meadows, and wildlife habitats.
As a Creative Resident, you will stay in a two-bedroom, two-bath home designed by noted Northwest architect Jim Cutler, tucked into the woods, tucked away from the trail used by regular Bloedel Reserve visitors.
Known as the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Education Center, the home is built over a stream and features beautiful finishes and furnishings. Residents have 24/7 access to Bloedel Reserve grounds during their stay and the use of a Smart Car. (Proof of valid driver’s license required.)
