PORT TOWNSEND — Downtown art galleries will stay open late Saturday with special exhibits for the Port Townsend Saturday Art Walk.
Among them will be Gallery-9, at 1012 Water St., which will be open until 8 p.m. featuring artists Shelly Gould and Linda and Larry Gonzales.
The Jefferson Museum of Art & History will be offering free admission all day at 540 Water St. An artists’ reception for new exhibits is planned from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.
A posthumous show of James McComb’s artwork is planned during the Saturday Art Walk from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Museum
Landscapes: Real & Imagined at the museum focuses on the work of Joan Jonland, Stephen Yates and Thomas Wilson (1931 – 2015) — three painters who lived and worked in Port Townsend for the majority of their lives as artists.
Along with their work, the exhibition features many selections from the permanent collection and local collectors that have never been publicly displayed.
Landscapes will be on view in the Ferguson Gallery through Aug. 6.
Now & Then has returned to the museum.
Referencing historic images from the Jefferson County Historical Society’s collection, students in David Egeler’s Photography and Advanced Media classes returned to places where historic images were taken to recreate the framing and angle of view in the present day.
The resulting photo essays in this year’s Now & Then exhibition is on view at the museum through the end of March.
Land & Seascapes by Jesse Watson will be presented through the end of April.
The rest of the month, the museum is open form 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and free for youth and members of the Jefferson County Historical Society.
Gallery-9
At Gallery-9, Gould’s oil paints and mixed media and the Gonzaleses carved wood reliefs are featured this month.
Gallery-9 is open six days a week from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed on Tuesdays). Masks are optional. The website is at www.gallery-9.com.
Gould is a self-taught artist, inspired by such people as Greta Thunberg, Edward Snowden, Cristian Terhes of European Parliament and Rob Roos, also of the European Parliament.
“I have been part of an environmental group for many years,” Gould said.
“Over the years, I have done my best to care for the earth — turn off lights, use less water, etc. — only to see corporations decimating the environment,” she continued.
“I have come to the point of anger for putting the weight of this burden on the ‘little guy’, the average American, and the most vulnerable of the population, which are the least able to make a big impact.
“Because of this, I have shifted my focus to painting portraits of heroes in my eyes that fight the big fight against the ‘big’ offenders. They are people just as vulnerable as you and I, but they rise up and are taking on the Goliaths for the sake of us all. I owe them my humble respect, gratitude and attention.”
The Gonzaleses create wood relief carvings of nature found in the marine world of the Olympic Peninsula. From whales, octopus and sea stars to seascapes and mammals, their carvings bring images of the Salish Sea straight into the home.
Larry grew up in Colorado on a farm. He became interested in metal sculpturing at an early age while welding farm equipment and working with metal, wood and glass. He taught himself stained glass and wood marquetry. He later focused on wood sculpting.
Linda was born and raised in Colorado, where she was a kindergarten teacher for 25 years. In that time, she learned to make dream catchers out of Rhizomes from trees and sinew and inuksuks from rocks.
When they moved to Washington, Larry took up relief carving, and Linda helped design the piece and color it. Their business is called “By the Sea.”
The artists prioritize local woods such as red and yellow cedar, birch, maple, alder and madrone. Their carvings include animals from the seas and trees as well because they depend on each other for survival.
Frequently found on a daily beach walk, the Gonzaleses leave themselves open for inspiration to strike from the natural world.
“It’s never-ending what nature can throw at you,” they said.
Except for the first Saturday of the month, Gallery-9 is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day but Tuesday.
For more information, see gallery-9.com, call 360 379-8881 or email info@gallery-9.com.
McComb’s work
At “Memories in Watercolor,” a posthumous show of McComb’s artwork, the public can meet his wife, Alene Valkanas, at 971 Aurora Loop from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
McComb was a self-taught watercolor artist, and after retiring and relocating to this area, he converted an old chicken coop on his property into an artist’s studio and turned his full attention to painting.
While his works were winning awards at exhibitions all around the country, he also opened his studio to students.
“Growing up in a rural lakeside area, and moving to one later in life, I believe has marked my painting,” he said.
“These regions share their charms with people longing to escape the congestion and routine of life. Then as now, rural and city people find the gentle touch of nature and comfort near the water,” he continued.
“Life wears the polish off almost everything, but at water’s edge, much of that polish can be renewed.”
Linda and Larry Gonxales create wood relief work based on nature.
