Ballard Art Walk, Saturday Aug. 8

I attended the art walk in Ballard on Saturday. I was very pleasantly surprised by the number of venues and the quality of art I found. It may be the best of the walks aside from the First Thursday scene.

At Miro Tea, I met artist Elizabeth Dixon. It is an interesting mix of venue and artist, since Elizabeth's works show a resemblance to the artist Miro. Elizabeth is returning to painting and showing her works after taking a hiatus following the birth of her daughter. Elizabeth's paintings are cheery, and while simple in form, complex in texture. Elizabeth says her life has been transformed by the birth of her daughter, and it has translated into her work. She says the colors she now uses are much more vibrant than the more subtle tones of her prior work. The paintings shown at Miro also reflect her newfound love of children - each of them is named after a child. Her painting "Tess" which she stands in front of in the photo, is named after her daughter.

Next, at Shakti West, I met artist Nancy Reithaar. Nancy is well known, I suppose, in the Ballard neighborhood. Two years ago, I followed Nancy's show at Karma Coffee, with my own photography. Nancy's show sold out, from what I understand, while I failed to sell one photo. Both of those are indicative of the level of talent (though hopefully my work has grown since then).

Nancy paints monotypes, some with collage; and sketches. She uses a vibrant palate which she balances with cool blues and greens, and plenty of white space. The paintings with collage are intricate and complex, and beautiful in symmetry, texture, and color. She presents her work framed with the art floated over art paper, for a finished sophisticated look. Her sketches are likewise beautifully done. I would equate them to the photographic equivelent of a black & white silver gelatin print. They are a pleasure to view in a way that the subject matter is allowed to be expressed without the added values color brings. All of Nancy's work is very affordable, and beautifully done. (nancyreithaar.com)

At Annie's Art & Frame, I met artist Susan Martin. Susan is an employee at Annie's and has taken up artistic pursuits of her own. Susan recently completed the work here, which is a series of sketches she made of the walls of Fort Warden. Fort Worden, for those unfamiliar, is one of the original artillery battery placements guarding the entrance of Puget Sound. It is located near Port Townsend. The guns are gone, and now what remains are a labyrinth of concrete trenches, and old metal doors. The walls have cracks, peeling paint, and lichen, and the doors have serious rust, so there is plenty of texture. Susan took photos of the walls, on a flat, gray day, and made sketches of what she photographed. The effect are some very interesting abstracts. Susan also has some smallish, acrylic paintings of Pacific Northwest inspired water. Nice work from a new artist.


My next stop was at Market Street Shoes, where I met photographer Glynnis Hughes. This was the first solo show for Glynnis, though she also has a solo show opening on Thursday for the Capitol Hill Blitz art walk, at North Hill Bakery, 518 15th Ave E. Glynnis shoots traditional black and white silver gelatin prints. Many of her photos were shot on a trip to Paris, France, and there are a few Northwest photos, as well. Glynnis shoots abstracts. She gets close to her subject matter. One gets the sense of "Parisian" rather than say a blatant photo of Le Tour Eiffel. The prints are small, inviting the viewer to get close and take in the atmosphere of the photograph. While perhaps not in vogue, the small photograph has a long legacy with most of the master's, such as Imogen Cunningham, printing on a small scale. Inviting the viewer to get close is the problem with this show, however, since most the photographs are all placed above the displays in the small store - meaning at least eight feet to the lowest edge. Glynnis has a good eye and the prints are nicely done. As she sells these at a reasonable price, and is able to get into the darkroom on a more steady basis, she should evolve into a fine photographer.

Finally, it was past nine, and I expected I would not be able to see more. However, I noticed Skarbos was open, and it appeared there were people milling - a sign of an art show. So I stepped inside. Here I met artist Liv (pronounced Leev) Larsen. Liv is originally from Boston, and has been here just a short time. Liv is a Norwegian name. It is a nice name, and one I had not seen before.

Liv paints dark deep forests and trees. With bark so real looking that you might swear she hued a large chunk from a tree and pasted it to the canvas. In fact, in the photo of Liv, you see Liv next to a large painting, called Peeling Bark. Liv painted what looks like a tree skinned of its bark in one piece and stood on end. To heighten the effect, Liv leaves the piece free of frame or structure, and bends the outer edges towards the center - like a stripped bark would do. It is a beautiful piece, as is her entire collection. The colors are deep chocolaty brown canvases with white and brown trees and golden coloring from a hidden sun or perhaps magical light source. They feel rich in a culture that relates to trees.

In ancient Scandinavian culture, the evergreen tree was an important icon. According to Norse mythology, the world was a giant tree called Yggdrasil. The roots of Yggdrasil went deep into the underworld. According to one researcher, the importance of the tree remained even after the introduction of Christianity, with Scandinavian churches built in nine sections - the same as the number of realms in Yggdrasil. I bring this up to wonder if Liv is painting from this resource, or if her heritage is naturally drawn to the woods as an artistic element to explore and bring out emotional response.

Skarbos sells high end modern Scandinavian furnishings and Liv's paintings felt at home with expensive furniture. Liv is also a very talented photographer. Perhaps we will see that side in another show. (livlarsenphotography.com)