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‘SINGULAR ENERGY’
18 north coast artists explore the ocean in Fairweather House and Gallery exhibition
“Making Waves,” an exhibition on view now at Seaside’s Fairweather
House and Gallery, features works by 18 north coast artists that explore
our relationship to the ocean.
Artist Victoria Brooks works on a painting during the opening reception
for “Making Waves” at Fairweather House and Gallery.
Photos by Katherine Lacaze
By KATHERINE LACAZE
FOR COAST WEEKEND
I
f Fairweather House and Gal-
lery in Seaside’s July exhi-
bition “Making Waves”
demonstrates anything it is that
the ocean has countless faces, pro-
viding an equal amount of oppor-
tunities for artists for develop
individual relationships with the
water while striving to capture its
expression.
“All artists sort of share that
same problem-solving dilemma:
How to accurately render a sur-
face of water,” said artist Phil Jut-
telstad, of Tigard, who is pre-
senting work for the first time at
Fairweather.
“There are a thousand ways
to interpret an image, so there are
lots of opportunities to explore.”
The exhibition is on view now
through the end of July opened
with a reception during Seaside’s
First Saturday Art Walk. Accord-
ing to gallery owner Denise Fair-
weather, the exhibition includes
new original work created entirely
by 18 North Coast artists.
Every month, Fairweather
transforms her gallery with a new
exhibition centered on a particu-
lar theme.
Late last year, she sent a list of
potential themes to her resident
artists – those who consistently
have work on display at the gal-
lery – and they shared their pref-
erence for the themes that fit with
their existing work or for which
they wanted to create new pieces.
At least once per year, the theme
relates in some way to water and
the ocean.
Excitement and energy
The range of images, styles
and techniques in the current exhi-
bition, Fairweather said, “reveals
the extraordinary impact of the sea
and waves.”
For oil painter Sharon Abbott-
Furze, who is also new to gallery
and did a demonstration during
During the opening reception for
Fariweather House and Gallery’s
July exhibition “Making Waves,”
guest artist Sharon Abbott-
Furze shares an oil painting she’s
working on entitled “Timeless.”
the opening reception, the theme
“Making Waves” was a natural fit.
She regularly paints seascapes
and has an affinity for every-
thing about the ocean: “the power,
the lighting, the movement, the
moods,” she said.
Dabbling in abstract impres-
sionism and expressionistic real-
ism, she focuses on capturing the
emotions evoked by what she is
observing.
“I meander,” she said. “I’m
not trying to paint what I see, I’m
painting what I feel, and oils really
accommodate that well.”
Although Abbott-Furze now
lives in Vancouver, she and her
husband had a boat ported in
Ilwaco for many years from the
late 1960s to the ’80s.
She and other artists expressed
what they find to be unique about
the ocean and its expression on
the Oregon and Washington coast
as compared to other locations.
“They don’t have the excite-
ment for me, the power, the terrain
of our coast,” Abbott-Furze said.
Juttelstad agreed, adding, “The
Oregon Coast is singular in that it
has kind of an energy about it that
a lot of locations can’t impart.”
Additionally, he said, the
mountains and rocks along the
coast create “some really nice
geometry and opportunities for
dynamic composition,” with
rough waves and muted col-
ors because of the surrounding
atmosphere.
Painting the ocean, coast
Karen Lewis, who over the
years has sought to paint “the
many moods of water,” also pays
close attention to even subtle color
variations and how they factor
into her composition.
Each coastal location “has its
special quirks,” she said.
For instance, when she paints
images of the ocean in Hawaii,
she specifically keeps pthalo blue
on hand to accurately render the
water. In Oregon, the ocean con-
tains more green. The surface also
reflects the sky and the shadows
that pass over it.
“The water itself creates oppor-
tunities that don’t exist in looking
at a static surface, such as the side
of a building or a hillside,” Jut-
telstad agreed. “You have to ren-
der the surface of the water, the
waves, and the debris that is on
the surface. You also have to ren-
der what is underneath the water.”
Lewis added seascapes also
encapsulate movement, which
presents another challenge for
painters.
“You have to watch for pat-
terns – patterns of color, patterns
of movement – and things that
repeat to find a moment to cap-
ture,” she said. CW