Monday, November 16, 2015

From Meadows to Mountains

In recent years, Plein Air Washington Artists have held an end of year juried art show to showcase and celebrate the great art that our members have been doing. This year's theme is "Meadows to Mountains" and is ongoing right now.

We celebrated the opening of the show at the American Art Company a couple weeks ago. It was great to see a lot of the people that I've painted with and their work nicely framed in the gallery. I must say I wasn't terribly surprised at the winners; all were stunning and quite deserving of winning the awards.

Ned Mueller, "Mt. Shuksan"

Here are the awards:

From left: Michael Situ, Jim Lamb, and Ned Mueller
photo credit: Karren Bakke

This year's judge was the esteemed Michael Situ. When you visit the gallery, there is a wonderful Michael Situ painting there that we are raffling off for just $5 per ticket. It's a great opportunity to get such an exquisite painting. But of course, there are other excellent paintings by many many artists. This year there are nearly 90 paintings on display, go and check it out yourself! The exhibit runs through December.

American Art Co is at 1126 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma, WA 98402. For those who cannot go to Tacoma, this show also has an online gallery where you can also purchase the art.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Featured Artist: Kathleen F. Ritz

Our featured artist this time is Kathleen Ritz!


One thing that's nice about doing these artist features is that I get to go read their bios, check out their websites, and learn more about their art. I've painted with Kathleen on a couple paint outs before, and really enjoyed her work. But I must admit, I didn't know much about her background. So here's Kathleen's bio:


I have a Bachelors Degree in Nursing but my interest in art is as strong as my professional career. I have had an interest in art all of my life, sketching and working in watercolor from an early age. I began working in watercolor in 1986 taking classes and workshops, then my interest changed to oil painting and I sought further art education beginning in 2006 from the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, WA. The object of my focus includes the natural world and the elements people have designed, working primarily on sight in plain air. I have had a lifelong interest in nature and can be found walking and hiking most any month of the year, rain or shine, eyes wide open to my surroundings. I enjoy painting landscapes, historical architecture, boats and water scenes, and occasionally have opportunities to paint someones portrait, which is a wonderful experience. Artists who have influenced my works include Edward Hopper, Emily Carr, Tommy Thompson, and Georgia O’Keeffe.
I do think that these influences really show up in her work:






Kathleen's website is at www.kathleenritzart.com.