Even for avid lovers of contemporary art, it’s difficult to imagine getting up the gumption to visit every one of the dozens of studios whose doors will be open during the 29th annual Whatcom Artist Studio Tour (WAST) taking place Oct. 7–8 and Oct. 14–15 throughout Whatcom County.
To help winnow down the choices, four area galleries — Allied Arts, Dakota Art Store, Whatcom Museum’s Old City Hall in downtown Bellingham and Jansen Art Center in Lynden — are hosting group shows composed of works by many of the 61 artists who will be participating in this year’s WAST.
When you find an artist of interest, take note, then show up on their doorstep during October’s free, self-guided tour. They’ll be happy to see you, especially if you decide to purchase one of their works.
Attendees will want to hit up the Allied Arts “Whatcom Artist Studio Tour Preview” show first, as it closes Saturday, Sept. 30 to make room for “Lush of Life,” a Juried Gallery Series show opening Friday, Oct. 6 during downtown Bellingham’s First Friday event.
On a recent walk-through of the exhibit at 1418 Cornwall Ave., acrylics, sculptures, paintings, woodwork, glass pieces, digital art prints, photography and more were on display.
Of particular interest in this show are photos by Tommy Gibson, whose “Bellingham Rockets” features the six rusty digester tanks on the city’s waterfront. The photograph is starkly beautiful, with blue skies and dramatic clouds resembling a painting more than a picture.
Other eye-catching works include the oil painting “Grandma’s Quilt” by Kendra Aldrich, Ria Harboe’s acrylic “Morning Light Illumines,” Ron Pattern’s pool-centric “8 Ball” using egg tempera, and Nancy Canyon’s plein air paintings of rolling hills in Tuscany that make one want to jump on a plane to Italy.
Many of the same artists — including Canyon, Harboe, Pattern and Gibson — are also represented at Dakota Art Store, just up the block from Allied Arts. The gallery space at 1332 Cornwall Ave. is full of light when it’s sunny and offers places to sit to soak up the exhibited works, which will be shown through Oct. 21.
Steeb Russell, a local artist and graphic designer who works one day a week at Dakota Art Store as a self-described “high-functioning mascot,” said he’s seen quite a few people come through to check out the WAST preview since it opened at the beginning of September.
“When I’m here on a Wednesday, I see a lot of people coming to see this show,” he said. “Group shows always, always do better anyway. Let’s say you have 20 different artists in here, that kind of creates a different ripple and a different kind of fervor than if there’s just two or three artists in a room.”
During a short perusal of the exhibit, Russell pointed out his favorite pieces, including Frank Frazee’s “very sweet” painting “A Dragon Lives Forever,” Lorna Liebert’s oversized “Out to Lunch” oil painting of the double-decker bus in historic Fairhaven, and Pattern’s “End Game” — another pool-focused piece featuring a cue stick, a cue ball and an 8-ball.
“That one blows my mind,” Russell said of Pattern’s painting, which also uses egg tempera and looks quite realistic. “Sometimes I come in the gallery and look at this one and just kind of go ‘woah.’”
Not far away, a “Whatcom Artist Studio Tour Showcase” at Whatcom Museum’s Old City Hall at 121 Prospect St. is showing WAST works through Oct. 15. The gallery will also be open for the First Fridays event on Oct. 6 for those interested in attending for free.
Finally, a Whatcom Artist Studio Tour 2023 “Showcase Exhibit” can be perused at the Jansen Art Center through Oct. 21. All of these works can be viewed online if you don’t have time to attend before the WAST tour, but it’s worth seeing in person, especially since three other exhibits are currently on display at the Lynden venue.
For more details about the Whatcom Artist Studio Tour, go to studiotour.net.
