Welcome to the October edition of the West Seattle Art Walk! Thursday, October 11th 5pm to late (hours vary by location; see below).
Our participating artists, businesses, and restaurants are excited to welcome the community to stop by and join in celebrating our vibrant art scene. See the listing below for all businesses hosting art in October. For restaurant specials, click here.
(featured image by Amaranta Ibarra at Inner Alchemy)
Fall/Winter 2018 Walking Map (October 11, November 8, December 13)
Congratulations to Frances Smersh, whose painting is featured in our Q4 print materials. You can find her work at Click! Design That Fits in October.
Pick up a hard copy of our printed postcards at any of our participating Art Walk businesses or click here to view the Google map.
In the Junction:
John L Scott Real Estate
4445 California Ave SW
Rena Patel at John L Scott – West Seattle 5 PM – 9 PM
My paintings are a reflection of me. Painting is a freedom to express in color, shape, line, and objects, for which I don’t have words. When I paint, I experience the carefree life of my childhood, the love, joy and pain of being a mother, the ups and downs and the curves the life throws at you. It gives me time to nourish my soul, and be kind to myself, and to accept that I am good, as I am, not perfect but good. I always paint with an intention of happiness, love and joy.
Verity Credit Union (Art Walk Sponsor)
4505 California Ave SW
Chris Kelleher At Verity Credit Union 5 PM – 7:30 PM
Creating mostly through improvisation, I set out to build a relationship between marks focusing on movement, form and light. Though predominately abstract, the landscape of the Pacific Northwest has had a profound influence on my work. Whether I am painting at a live music performance or I am in my studio, music is an important part of the process. I allow music to directly translate into my work by accessing its poetry, melody, and above all else, rhythm. I try to allow each piece to flow from the brush with the same dynamic tendencies as water itself. I consider my work to be both spiritual and playful.
Capers
4525 California Ave SW
Cheryl Zanhiser At CAPERS 5 PM
Ever since I started drawing, the process of “creating” has been one of my greatest source of joy and pleasure. Focusing on portraiture and figurative work, I’m able to explore the fascinating personalities of individuals, and to express the vibrant colors and textures of nature in my work. Many of my paintings/drawings are large in size, as I enjoy the sheer physical involvement it takes to move paint on a large canvas. Although I work primarily with oils I like using a range of other mediums, including charcoal and using glass as a canvas creating work with the reverse painting process and firing enamels in the kiln.
I hope you’ll enjoy my work. Thank you very much for your interest and for supporting the arts.
Wild Rose’s
4529 California Av SW
Lorrie Brogan Art at Wild Roses 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
I am excited to show a new series of paintings at Wild Rose’s for the October Art Walk. The series titled “…dot…dot…dot…” is totally different from any of my previous work. I will be at the Opening Reception on Thursday, Oct. 11th, 6:30-8:30 pm.
Virago Gallery
4537 California Ave SW
A surprising mix of artists. Please stop by the gallery on Art Walk night. 5 PM
RE/Max Junction
4400 SW Alaska St
RE/Max will not be hosting an artist during October.
Artswest Playhouse and Gallery
4711 California Ave SW
Aramis O. Hamer at ArtsWest 6 PM – 7 PM
Aramis O. Hamer is a visual artist and muralist living in Seattle, WA. Her subject matter is inspired by the cosmos, music, nature, divine femininity, and the complexities throughout the Black culture. From a very young age she always loved to create, but at the age of fifteen she discovered her love for acrylic paints. With the supportive art community in the Pacific Northwest, Aramis has been able to exhibit her colorful creations at many different exhibitions in the greater Seattle area- including the EMP Museum, Paramount Theater, Martyr Sauce Gallery, Columbia City Gallery, and more. Aramis created the iconic purple goddess in 2016 for KEXP radio station at Seattle Center which became a catalyst to her art career. You can find many of her designs all over the city including Jimi Hendrix Park. As a self-taught artist, Aramis lets the pull of her imagination be her guide. Her adventure is just beginning, and she invites others to join her on this journey.
West Seattle Art Nest
4138 California Ave SW
Tara Nelson at West Seattle Art Nest 5 PM
A series of visual art through mix media. From picture to doodle. Hear stories of the images taken in Lebanon. And a special viewing of New art. All proceeds to to Syrian Refugees.
Windermere Real Estate Hosted by Kim Tingley & Jacey Frangos
4526 California Ave SW
Click! Design That Fits
4540 California Ave SW
Frances Smersh at Click! Design That Fits 5 PM – 8 PM
October’s featured artist is our own Frances Smersh. Fourteen years ago it was Frances’s idea to open a contemporary design boutique in West Seattle. Three and a half years ago Frances was diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s Disease.
With painting as her primary focus for most of the last year, she’s produced an impressive body of work! She’ll be presenting a collection of paintings Thursday October 11 during West Seattle Art Walk. She has titled her show “With a Little Help from my Friends“, an acknowledgement of the extra assistance she now needs. Frances is especially grateful to her friend Michelle Ting (you may have seen her or her ceramics at Click!) whom she has worked closely with ever since their jewelry collaboration last year.
(Frances is also the cover artist for the Q4 2018 Art Walk materials)
Wallflower Custom Framing
4735 42nd Ave SW
Judith Rayl at Wallflower Custom Framing 5 PM – 8 PM
My semi-abstract photography explores the beauty found at the intersection
of nature and the human-made. Harmony, presence, and perception are my
themes. I am inspired by the reconciliation of the natural with the manmade,
the immediacy of texture and movement, and the play of light and shadow.
My photography uses no double images, layering nor retouching; I embrace
the impermanence of each moment. My unaltered raw images explore new
visual perspectives by seeking refractive and reflective viewpoints. I began
showing my art in 2017 and my work has been chosen for 29 exhibitions to
date. I was also selected for the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture’s Ethnic
Artist Roster. My full portfolio can be viewed at judithrayl.weebly.com
Graystone Mortgage
4726 42nd Ave SW (in Jefferson Square)
Elena Naskova at Greystone Mortgage 5 PM – 8 PM
Elena Naskova uses watercolor, acrylic, and oil to explore the inside and outside world, so she can notice, understand and connect better.
She immigrated to America from Macedonia when she was 25. She joined a ceramic studio in Los Angeles where she created ceramic art for many years. She finally had to sell her kiln and wheel because she moved to Seattle. There she started experimenting with paintings, using watercolor, acrylic, and recently oil.
Elena paints portraits, nature, human bodies, and she loves the freedom of abstract expression. She likes to explore different variations of an idea, or theme, by creating a series of paintings about the same subject matter.
Because of her Slavic and Eastern Orthodox heritage, some of her work, especially her portraits are influenced by iconography.
A line can depict a shape, a wiggle, a horizon, a mountain top, a wrinkle, a wave, a hair and what else? Add to it some color, and a whole world is born out of an empty space.
My work explores exactly that: the intricate dance of lines with colors to the music of inspiration. Every work of art is a birth of a new world with its own story, tension, drama and beauty. It’s a privilege to be an artist and witness the birth of these worlds, and experience first hand the stories they tell.
In Greater West Seattle:
QSpace Gallery & Studio
3800 California Ave SW Unit B
Canna West Seattle (Art Walk Sponsor)
5435 California Ave SW
Viscon Cellars
5910 CALIFORNIA AVE SW
Megan Simmons at Viscon Cellars 5 PM – 9 PM
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been making or creating something with my hands. I went to art camps as a kid — was a designer on the yearbook staff — learned how to sew clothing, quilts and home décor — became a graphic designer — and even learned to build furniture in woodworking school. I would be lost without my tools, fabric and a wide range of art supplies. Most recently, my tools of choice are paint brushes, water soluble crayons and lots of acrylic paint.
I get lost in the layers of paint, while mixing colors and creating texture. I’m inspired by bold statements, raw textures, street art, nature, and the spaces between objects. Painting on paper gives me the freedom to make mistakes and explore more freely. I find relaxation in the chaos of scribbling, doodling and mark making… covering up layer after layer until I discover areas that I don’t want disturbed.
Renee Walden – Edward Jones
6017 California Ave SW
Jenna Howell at Renee Walden – Edward Jones
West Seattle Skin Care (NEW ART WALK BUSINESS)
6021A California Ave SW
Liana Elizabeth at West Seattle Skincare 5 PM
Liana Elizabeth is a self taught and self proclaimed artist. In her paintings she really focuses on color and has found passion in playing with vibrancy to display a variety of emotions. When looking at her art you may notice that rather than painting all with brush, she chooses to incorporate finger painting also as a way to make the paintings more personal in a sense.
For this showing at West Seattle Skincare, Liana has chosen many acrylic paint pieces that she believes will make you think, question, and feel. This will be her first official art showing, and will include a variety of her favorite themes.
Office of Rebecca Mitsui (Art Walk Sponsor): Bonnie Katz Sailors, 5-8pm
6021B California Ave SW
Show: “Postcards from Washington”
Bonnie Katz Sailors is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts. Her focus was printmaking and drawing in school, but now has a large portfolio with her years of oil painting. As her career evolves, she’s recently taken to landscape photography. Her passion for nature and capturing the beauty all around us has led to her latest show that will be featured at the Office of Rebecca Mitsui.
Bonnie Katz Sailors is also a long time business owner of Fitness Together located in the West Seattle Junction. Her passion for fitness and art has been a theme in both her training studio and her art studio.
Inner Alchemy, Treasures & Transformations
7354 35th Ave SW
Amaranta Ibarra and Bryon Stewart at Inner Alchemy 6 PM – 9 PM
Day of the Dead Show
Inner Alchemy celebrates the Day of the Dead with two incredible local artists who share their own unique style of art. Amaranta celebrates day of the dead with traditional Dia De Los Muertos images with a contemporary flair and Bryon who has a style that is reminiscent to Frida Kahlo.
This month Inner Alchemy will offer meditations, classes, talks and workshops to honor death and our loved ones who have passed. Our Practitioners will offer complimentary mini sessions and there will be sips and nibbles and beautiful retail to enjoy.
West Seattle Art Walk 