Summertime show to open at Northwind Art

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 23, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — As she examined hundreds of submissions to the “Northwest Expressions” art exhibition, juror Anne Pfeiffer found many that made her gasp.

“I’m just amazed at the mastery and creativity of these people,” she said of the artists who entered the show.

Pfeiffer had to select 50 entries to fit into the final exhibit.

“Northwest Expressions,” Northwind Art’s annual exhibit at Jeanette Best Gallery, is a show that brings together two- and three-dimensional art in many media, from clay to watercolor to collage and beyond. Artists from across Washington state and Oregon enter.

Now the show is filling the gallery with color and light: 50 works by 35 artists from 16 communities. Paintings, sculpture, textile art, printmaking, photography, collage, trees, birds, islands, seascapes and beyond appear in “Northwest Expressions,” which will be on view from Thursday through Aug. 10.

Those who explore the exhibit can vote for their favorites in the People’s Choice Award balloting at Jeanette Best Gallery, 701 Water St. The venue’s regular hours are from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays, and the new exhibit will be celebrated during First Saturday Art Walk from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 4. Admission to the gallery is free.

“Art Walk is a chance to meet many of the artists and chat with them about their work,” Northwind spokesperson Diane Urbani said.

Gallery visitors also will be able to see which piece won the Juror’s Choice Award. Pfeiffer will select that winner as soon as the show is installed and announce it on opening day.

The People’s Choice Award winner will be announced when the show closes. Both awards will bring a cash prize of $250.

One of the pieces that impressed Pfeiffer is “Northwest Island” by Sequim plein air painter Marian Morris.

“Oh my gosh. It’s almost like a fantasy,” Pfeiffer said.

“The subject matter and composition are almost dreamlike,” she said, adding that the painting harmonizes with the feeling of the Pacific Northwest.

This part of the world, she said, often can look and feel unreal.

Pfeiffer also marveled at David McKeague’s work. She said the artist, whose “Beach Stroll” is part of the show, understands the American Impressionist approach: he knows how to paint light.

“Northwest Expressions” also has subtle humor, she said, in the form of Margaret Woodcock’s mixed media collages. And Hanna Yudzina, in “Coastal Cupboard,” uses value tones and softness to great effect.

“I have never seen any monochromatic painting like that,” Pfeiffer said.

For more about the art and artists in “Northwest Expressions,” or about Northwind’s art and craft classes this summer, visit the nonprofit organization’s website at NorthwindArt.org.