SEQUIM — Blue Whole Gallery will present a new Walk-By Showing, “New Beginnings,” in the front windows beginning next Friday, June 5.
Featured artists are Lynne Armstrong and the winners of the art contest of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, judged by Mary Franchini, Terry Grasteit and Kate Loveland.
“June is the gallery’s 23rd anniversary,” said Ryoko Toyama, an artist at the cooperative gallery at 129 W. Washington St., in a press release.
“On this occasion, the members of the gallery assure the community that art will continue to bloom.
“In the battle of COVID-19 versus art, art will always be the victor.”
The gallery’s board is following Gov. Jay Inslee’s directives and will reopen once it is safe to the community and for the members of the gallery.
In the meantime, the Blue Whole Gallery Board has been carefully following the guidelines from the governor and Clallam County health officer and will reopen as soon as it is safe for the community and its members.
Art can be viewed through the gallery’s website at bluewholegallery.com and its Facebook Page, where new art has been posted throughout the closure.
The New Beginnings Walk-By Showing will be exhibited in the front windows throughout June.
Armstrong has worked and exhibited her paintings on the Olympic Peninsula for many years. In addition to the Blue Whole Gallery, of which she is a member, she exhibits at ArtJam, a community art event which takes place in the Barn on Silberhorn Road during Sequim Lavender Weekend and in juried shows in Port Angeles and Port Townsend.
“Staying home and staying isolated is not as much hardship for an artist as it is for some others,” Toyama said. “Lynne has spent the spring painting a series of fruit trees blooming in her yard. Cherry, apple, and pear, their beauty holds the promise of abundance and represents hope in a time when we all look for positive imagery.
“This series of acrylic paintings are a gift to honor nature’s promise of better times to come.”
In one of its windows, Blue Whole will display the art of winners of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula art show.
They are photos of artwork. The originals have been submitted to the National Boys & Girls Clubs of America Art Show contest in California, said Tessa Jackson, program director and interim Sequim unit director.
Fifteen pieces of winning art have been entered into the national show, she said.
A photo of Chelsea Clark from the Port Angles unit also will be in the window. Clark won the Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year for the state of Washington and will compete in the Regional Youth of the Year contest.