MEET THE GALLERYW ARTISTS

The Nature of Us

Don Wesley is known for his paintings of birds, where he combines details of the natural world with elements or scenarios of our own. While his work pays homage to birds, it can also address topics such as masculinity, power struggles, moments of beauty, and the world around us all. 

Wesley's most recent art can also be seen as reflective with no additional purpose but to illustrate something beautiful to us all. With designs such as a murmuration of starlings swirling in a sun-baked sky, or three crows in a drizzled aqua-teal wood-line, appearing to play and jostle during a discovery-packed day in the wild, his eye is on the prize of delighting us as we engage in the carefully placed and staged storyline within the painting. Things you think you see, you are indeed seeing. 

The subtleties of nature in Wesley's work shine even further in his new animated series of works titled Analog Analogies.

Living in the Present

An innovative use of traditional material: Chinese rice paper, paint and ink with cold wax. 

Sherry works with Chinese Xuan-paper (rice paper). Though fragile, it is surprisingly versatile. Unlike Chinese brush and ink painting, where the artwork is mounted afterwards - she reverses the process by manipulating the material – creating intricate shapes, cuts and draws based on the paper’s natural grain and texture while adding cold wax medium along the way. Sherry's artistic process is specific yet spontaneous, allowing the imagery to evolve organically. 

She calls her process Zì-Rán 自然. 

In Chinese this means nature, or the flow of things. Its use of abstract and fantastic shapes and vaguely defined objects, that are open for interpretation. The experience of the artist and spectator is interchangeable.

Saving the Salish Sea

James Lilly creates tromp l’oeil sculptures utilizing a modern laser cutter and traditional sculpting tools. Presented as contemporary reliquaries, they appear to be made of metal and stone, with precise details executed down to fabricated screw heads and torch cut steel plating. Lilly subtly suggests clues about each piece with connected signage and GPS coordinates. 

In Lilly's words, "I have developed a complex affinity for the lakes, and adjoining waterways of the Pacific Northwest. Not surprisingly, I have spent my entire life near the Pacific Ocean and my artwork is an extension of this attraction. As a child I spent my summers fishing and beach-combing along the Hood Canal. As I grew older, hiking, exploring, and fly-fishing became a staple. Most importantly, the state of the environment of “our territory” became a significant component of my lifeblood and I consider it my obligation to report on its status.