Port Townsend duo to host free presentaiton surrounded by their art
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 15, 2026
PORT TOWNSEND — Tennis racket strings, pool cues, a deep blue cake pan, 19 slim paintbrushes — such are the materials for “Peacock,” one of the animal assemblages Peter Koronakos made for his current exhibit.
This show, titled “New Work by Randy Sturgis & Peter Koronakos,” features 33 Koronakian artworks plus eight large-scale paintings by Randy Sturgis, all at Northwind Art’s Jeanette Best Gallery, 701 Water St.
The nonprofit gallery will be the setting for a free presentation featuring Sturgis and Koronakos — both Port Townsend artists — on Saturday. The public is invited to their short talks and question-and-answer sessions beginning at 2:30 p.m. Sturgis will speak first, and Koronakos will follow at 3:15 p.m.
“We’ve been having a great time in the gallery with this wild variety of art,” Northwind spokesperson Diane Urbani said.
“Peter’s animals, which range from chickens to monkeys, somehow go well with Randy’s paintings, which are super colorful,” she added.
The abstract paintings are tributes to important people in Sturgis’ life. “Lundquist Fall Division” is a piece honoring the late Warren Lundquist, his high school art teacher and mentor. “Swimming in Sandy’s Pond” is for his wife, who loves to swim in cold water.
Sturgis, a middle child, also created paintings for his older and younger sisters.
“You can feel the emotion on the canvas,” Urbani said.
To make his paintings, Sturgis buys big rolls of canvas, cuts out a piece and lays it on the floor. He paints defined shapes, and then splashes and drips his colors here and there.
“I try to get out of the way,” he said, referring to the connection between his heart and the canvas.
Koronakos, for his part, uses found objects — from sporting goods to kitchen implements — in an effort to bring alive the essence of an animal. He’s after “the squirreliness of a squirrel; the monkeyness of a monkey,” he said.
The artist researches mannerisms and habits, such as the tilt of a head or the way a tail is held. And many of his creatures, such as the bears and the fish, have hand-carved teeth.
“New Work by Randy Sturgis & Peter Koronakos” will stay on view through May 4, and throughout the run, visitors can pick up a scavenger hunt game sheet especially for Koronakos’ animals.
Northwind’s gallery hours are from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays. For more information, visit NorthwindArt.org.
