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| Celebrating 22 Years in Business
Exhibitions 2008
January............Dan Larsen - New Abstracts
February .........Brad Caplis - New Work
March............. Thom Ross - West Gone Wild
April.................Don Tiller and Jane Aukshunas - New Landscapes
May..................Mike Smith and Pat Tolle - New Works
June..................R.John Ichter - New Pastels
July...................Bill Braun - Trompe L' Oeil
August.............Gallery Inventory Show
September........Jaime Ellsworth New Paintings
October.............Holly Ballard Martz
November..........Liang Wei and Rich Klopfer New Paintings
December..........Holiday Group Show New Work |
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| Weekly Update July 6 - July 13 2008
Bill Braun - "A Pleasant Deception"
Meet Bill Braun in Person
6:00 - 9:00
Wednesday
Trompe-l’Oeil (Fr. ‘deceives the eye’) A type of painting, usually STILL-LIFE, which by means of various ILLUSIONIST devices persuades the spectator that he is looking at the actual objects represented. Successful Trompe l’Oeil occupies a very shallow space behind the PICTURE-PLANE, or actually seems to project beyond the picture surface.
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Global Economy comes to the gallery by way of our newest adventure into selling artwork.
China has recently been a very active participant in global art purchasing as well as art production and Sotheby's has set new records for work created in China. Chinese collectors are salivating for western work with a passion and we wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to share in that. With this in mind we have decided to participate in an art exhibition in Shenzhen China on May 16th and test the market for supporting our artists and the gallery.
This is a very exciting opportunity to share some of our stable of artist’s work with a world market and see how they are received. While it is impossible to take our entire stable we have selected 5 artists to start with and I have shipped 20 works to the show. I will be going to HK and Shenzhen on the 14th of May for a quick 6 day trip to facilitate the work shipped and acclimate myself to a new environment.
Artists to watch should their popularity increase overseas are: Bill Braun, Ray Pelley, Brad Caplis, Victor Karnaukh and Liang Wei.
Maybe you would like to add their work to your collection before the rest of the world finds them and makes their work more difficult to collect...
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In the News
True West Magazine - February-March
Thom Ross has again for a second year in a row been chosen as "The Most Popular, Contemporary Wild West Painter in the Country" by True West Magazine. Congrats Thom!
The Artist's Magazine - March 2008
Our featured April 2008 artist, Don Tiller was selected
to be a part of an article featuring 20 artists over 60 in the March
2008 issue. The feature article includes a photo of his painting
"Tree Line" as well as a short biography. Considering the vast
number of entries (500) it is an honor to have been chosen one of
the twenty professional artists being profiled. Look for it on
newsstands now.
As a result of this article, The Artist's Magazine is doing a feature
article slated for sometime this year. It will discuss his techniques in acrylic, and show a demo of his process in a series of photos.
http://www.artistsmagazine.com
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Spam Problems
Email and the Internet are very important tools for us in the gallery and we take each and every inquiry via email very seriously and strive to respond to each one in a timely manner. Spam has become a huge problem and even with filters, some well deserving emails fall through the cracks and sometimes get deposited in our Spam folder and can be deleted by accident.
If for some reason, you emailed us and didn't get a reply back, please don't take that as non interest, but that we might not have received your mail in the first place. We are trying to monitor the Spam folder much better, but again, there will be occassions when important mail slips though. Please email us again should you not here from us promptly.
Thank you for your understanding.
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Park Place Project
Now that you have voiced your opinions concerning the McLeod project in downtown, I would encourage all of you to explore the vision that Touchstone Development has for the redevelopment of their Park Place property. They desire a mixed use of office and retail with open space for art and congregating and are being met with adverse opinions from the DRB. Touchstone is looking for some height variances on the east end of their property to mitigate the height throughout the development and without the variances, the project may be developed all within the current zoning and be redeveloped as an office park without open space and retail...What a shame that you would be.
Those of you who think the project is a good one...it might be again time to voice that opinion with a note supporting your approval. We have great opportunities in Kirkland and some of them come with choices even with someone else's money. The negative outcry against any redevelopment is often heard louder than any support, so when there something so interesting as the redevelopment of Park Place it helps tremendously to hear support in favor of it.
New Artist Added:
We are pleased to have added the first of what we hope will be many new sculptures by Dutch artist Esmoreit Koetsier. He combines years of experience in metal fabrication and product development to achieve the creation of sculptures that range from abstract to industrial. Esmoreit prefers to work in steel, aluminum and stainless steel, then powder coats them in vivid primary colors that add a very playful dimension to the work.
Come by and see "Reverse" before it gets snatch up.
We still have a selection of Trompe L'Oeil paintings by Gallery favorite Bill Braun. Don't miss seeing these amazing works.
Thom Ross' trial run for his 2008 sculpture installation in San Francisco took place both on at Alki Beach and the beach in San Francisco below the Chart House with great success. 21 life size sculptures were placed in the sand depicting a 1902 photograph of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show of Indians on the Beach.
The Seattle Times gave Thom a nice photo in the paper and a brief look at what we can expect in September 2008.
New Works In
New Mezzotints by Laurent Schkolnyk (These are lovely)
$375 - $800
New Jurgen Gorg etchings
New Encaustics by Janet Baughman on Canvas
New Gallery Service
For the past several years we have partnered with a national art company headquartered here in Seattle to offer decorative framed artwork to retail customers throughout the US.
Picture Source of Seattle is a major wholesale art and framing company that supplies framed artwork, paintings, limited editions, open editions, mirrors and sculpture to the retail trade throughout the US. Furniture stores, gift shops, galleries and a variety of outlets showcase these art products of Picture Source.
You as a client of the Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery can now access their complete website of artwork and order exclusively through us as Picture Source will not sell to the general public. As a client of the Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery, you will be automatically offered a 10% discount on any piece of artwork you select with a deeper discount for large quantities.
Here is how it works: Go to: www.picture-source.com
Log in with this password and customer Id:
Customer Password: 753LG
Customer ID: 1
Please go through the site at your leisure and see what you are interested in and refer those choices back to us. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email or call the gallery.
All the artwork is framed and selections of frames are limited, but PS does a great job and matching artwork to mats and frames and normally the combinations will work for everyone.
We hope you enjoy his new service for your art needs.
We will continue to service our collectors the best we can as we have done here for the past 20 years. Just remember that "ART IS NOT A LUXURY". We have managed to weather a difficult economy and hope that you will continue to look to us as your "Art Source" for your collecting or decorating needs. We have sacrificed a lot to stay in this great community of Kirkland and look forward to the next 20 years. Come out and be a part of it.
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| Join us for SECOND THURSDAYS KIRKLAND Gallery Events 6-8pm An Evening of Art, Shopping, Dining & Entertainment on the 2nd Thursday of every month all year long.
Please make note that the times have changed for 2nd Thursdays. Winter hours will be 6:00 - 8:00pm
Be sure to check our website or get on our mailing list for special “Wednesday Night” pre-functions, artist receptions and other Special Events that are on a little more personal level. It is a great time…come on out! |
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| Peter Brady visits our Kirkland Gallery
Recently our gallery had celebrity visitor and much to his surprise I pulled out our limited edition blueprint of his TV home, the “Home of Mike and Carol Brady and The Brady Bunch.” This is the last of our inventory of Mark Bennett’s historic TV blueprints that we have and what a serendipitous event to have a “Brady” in our Gallery to give us some first hand information about his TV home.
Christopher Knight, known to the TV sitcom world as Peter Brady in the Brady Bunch (1969-1974) happened into our gallery one Saturday afternoon with his longtime friend and Kirkland resident Cy. It was a fun experience not only for me, being the same age as Chris Knight and having grown up with The Brady Bunch, but also for him to see an entire recreation of his TV home. Since TV homes on the Paramount lot were not “whole” home constructions, but several sets in different locations an actor never really saw the house they were performing in as a whole entity.
As Chris Knight carefully viewed the blueprint, you could see the flash backs of a memorable time as he smiled and followed the blueprint room to room looking at every detail.
“This isn’t quite right” he said as he got up to the shared continental bathroom upstairs…”there wasn’t a toilet there”. “We (TV) weren’t allowed to show a toilet on television at all”. “But I guess if there was a toilet, it would be right there where Mark Bennett added it” he said with a smile.
I think he enjoyed his brief visit to Kirkland and trip down memory lane with this unexpected adventure of seeing his fictitious TV home compiled into one believable blueprint. Unfortunately he didn’t buy it, but that only means that you can…$3,500 gets you a piece of Americana and television history by Mark Bennett.
When it premiered on ABC in 1969 The Brady Bunch garnered mostly negative reviews. From that date until 1974, its entire network run, the series never reached the top ten ranks of the Nielsen ratings. Yet, the program stands as one of the most important sitcoms of American 1970s television programming, spawning numerous other series on all three major networks, as well as records, lunch boxes, a cookbook, and even a stage show and feature film.
For more TV homes by Mark Bennett, you can purchase his book. TV Sets: Fantasy Blueprints of Classic TV Homes.
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, ISBN# 1579121071
More info on Christopher Knight
Christopher Anton Knight was born November 7,1957 in Manhattan, New York, the second of four children: three boys, and one girl. Around the time he was three, his family moved to Los Angeles, where his father, an actor, later began seeking auditions for his two oldest sons as a means of saving money for their college education. Although both Christopher and his older brother Mark tried out, only Christopher was offered parts.
At the young age of seven, he began landing appearances in commercials for companies such as Toyota, Tide, and Cheerios and in television shows such as “Gunsmoke” and “Mannix.”
Soon, however, he found himself involved with what would become one of the most successful television shows of all time. Partially because his dark looks matched that of Robert Reed who was already cast as the show's father, Christopher won the part of the middle brother, Peter Brady, in "The Brady Bunch." Airing from September 1969 through August 1974, the show was highly popular with teenagers of that era. Although ending thirty years ago, it acquired instant syndication and has never since left the airways.
Being a reluctant icon as well as having an innate interest in science and machines led Christopher to his new career in the computer industry in 1988. Constant celebrity status from youth has provided him with people skills and has proven to be excellent preparation for life in sales and marketing. Entering the industry as an account sales manager at Martec, Inc., he logged the company’s first $1 million sales order within his first eighteen months, quickly becoming Martec’s top performer, and employee of the year.
In October 1989 Christopher took the responsibility of Vice President of Design System Marketing and Sales at New Image Industry, moving the company into 3D rendering/imaging technologies. Then in mid 1991, he, and a few other key employees successfully moved the software engineering staff and the 3D technologies into a new privately held company, Visual Software. As co-founder of Visual Software, Christopher was a pioneer in the consumer 3D graphics market. His efforts were responsible for enormous sales growth, moving the company from $.4 million annual sales to $4.2 million within 10 months. Visual Software was acquired by Micrografx in January.
In late 1995, Christopher partnered with friend and associate Frank Paniagua, and founded Kidwise Learningware. This company proposed to design, produce and publish interactive edutainment products for children. Christopher served as Executive Producer, with duties ranging from production and design, projects management and sales strategy.
In February of 1996, he took on the responsibility of Vice President of Sales at Adesso, a Keyboard manufacturer, providing keyboards for Macintosh and PC/Win95 systems, where he oversaw a doubling of sales within his first four months.
He and Mr. Paniagua reunited again in August of 1997 at Integrated Micro Solutions (I.M.S.) which later became IXMICRO. Initially hired in the capacity of Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Christopher was promoted to Vice President of Marketing after only four months. With Mr. Paniagua, he was able to influence annual sales from less than $2 million in early 1997 to $63 million in 1998.
In late 1998, Christopher would again team up with Paniagua and another associate, David Smith, to form Eskape Labs. Knight, Smith and Paniagua had all been part of IXMICRO’s executive staff when the company decided to concentrate on a path divergent from the common interests of the three. Sensing a shift in the focus of the computer technology industry beyond the personal computer to intelligent devices, Eskape Labs was born. The company’s mission, to provide “on wire” digital appliances that easily plug into computers, has led Eskape to develop a number of first-to-market video devices. Eskape Labs was purchased by Hauppauge Computer Works in the summer of 2000. Hauppauge is the world’s largest manufacturer of computer based TV tuner products and, with Eskape Labs, now has a line of TV tuners compatible with the Macintosh.
Christopher continued to work for Hauppauge Computer as the head of the Eskape Labs brand until the spring of 2003, and then as a consultant to the company throughout the remainder of the year.
Mid year 2003 he became more involved on an executive level with an investment that had taken flight and was in need of interim management. Casting Networks Inc. (doing business as LA Casting and SF Casting) is an online (web based) talent exchange. Nine months from the introduction of the service to the Los Angeles commercial casting marketplace in late 2002, LA Casting had completely revolutionized the casting process by replacing archaic and time-consuming methods of handling clients’ information with a much more efficient method using the Internet.
While Christopher’s career in the high tech industry has prevented much involvement in entertainment, it did not constitute a full retirement from show business; he has starred or otherwise participated in the abundance of Brady films, television movies, series, gatherings, discussions and retrospectives. Christopher also has utilized his celebrity status by serving as host and/or spokesperson for several projects. In 2003, for example, Christopher hosted the series “TV Road Trip” for the Travel Channel and was involved with the celebrity version of Discovery Health Channel’s “Body Challenge,” for debut in the fall of 2004. This year also marks the fourth consecutive year that he has been the spokesperson for the American Counseling Association’s “Healthy Skin, Healthy Outlook” campaign, which has received the Gold Triangle Award recognizing excellence in public education of dermatology issues the past two years. In 2002-2003, Christopher also was privileged to be the spokesperson for the National Consumer League’s “AD/HD Campaign to Inform the Nation,” speaking in Washington D.C. at the National Press Club on the sensitive subject of AD/HD (Christopher himself was diagnosed with lifelong ADD at the age of 40). The campaign’s laudable goal is to broadcast the truth about AD/HD, dispelling myths and tearing down the barriers of ignorance and stigma that prevent AD/HD sufferers from obtaining the proper diagnoses and medical treatments they need.
Cognizant of his celebrity status and seasoned by maturity, Christopher is ready and eager to return more fully to the industry that gave him his start and to expand his public identity, but his plan to re-establish his place in the entertainment industry is not designed to displace his interests in the corporate world. |
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| Viva Mexico in 2007
With my yearly and sometimes twice yearly trips to Mexico, I have grown to love some of the Mexican art I have seen over the years. It is playful and primitive, brightly colored and made with care and a thoughtfulness that comes from the heart.
We have just received in 4 wonderfully executed pastels by Noe Katz of Mexico City. This new series based on Swimmers could easily become studies for a new sculpture project that Katz has in mind...Kirkland needs one!
It has been more than 15 years that we have either shown or brokered work by Noe Katz and it is quite a pleasure to again have work in the gallery. The new work can be seen in currently.
Noe and family are in Kirkland for the month of August 2005 and we have had several opportunities to visit and discuss his new work and commissions in Mexico and Japan. Noe is truly an international artist and one of Mexico's premier and best known sculptors and we are pleased to show his new work.
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| Congratulations
Thom Ross - Cowboys and Indians
Ross has been recently recognized by True West Magazine as the best living contemporary western painter in the country. There is also a very nicely done article in the May/June issue of Wildlife Art Magazine. The gallery is kindly mentioned as well as one of our collectors.
Wildlife Art Magazine
Recently in the May/June 2006 issue of Wildlife Art Magazine, there is a fantastic article on Thom Ross. His life, his work and his passions. The gallery was very well represented with photos of works sold in the past and many of the photos we took at The Little Bighorn sculpture event last June were used in the article. Wildlife Art Magazine is on the News Stands now!
Pat Tolle
MARYHILL MUSEUM AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS IMLS GRANT FOR ARTIST-FARMER
EXCHANGE PROJECT
GOLDENDALE, Washington --- Thanks to a $44,535 grant from the federal
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Maryhill Museum of Art
has developed a multi-faceted project to facilitate an artist-farmer
exchange that will culminate in an exhibition and numerous related
programs in 2006.
This project explores issues and concerns of the modern American Farm
through the eyes of the artists, said Colleen Schafroth, executive
director. Twelve artists are spending time with twelve farmers on their
farms learning about the ways they employ sustainable agricultural
practices in order to survive and thrive.
The project is also in partnership with the American Farmland Trust who
work to stop the loss of productive farmland and promote environmentally
friendly farming practices.
IMLS is an independent federal grant-making agency dedicated to creating
and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums
serve their communities.
With their rich collections, museums enable visitors to physically
connect with history, science, and the creative process, said Dr.
Robert S. Martin, Director of the Institute. The Museums for America
grants will help museums advance their role as trusted resources that
serve communities by creating and sustaining a nation of learners.
As IMLS largest grant program, Museums for America provides more than
$16 million in grants to support the role of museums in American
society. The grants build the capacity of museums to sustain our
cultural heritage, support lifelong learning, and serve as centers of
community engagement.
For 2004, there were 190 grants awarded out of 829 applications.
All of the artists and farms for the Maryhill Museum project have been
selected, four from each of the states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Each artist is spending time this year at their assigned farm observing,
experiencing, and learning about the challenges farmers face to conserve
natural resources while still providing food for a the growing world
population.
Artist CPat Tolle has been working at a wheat and blue grass farm near
St. John in eastern Washington. Noted for her birds-eye landscape
paintings, Tolle has spent several days observing how farmer Tracy
Erickson manages sustainability on the 2,200 acre farm. "I've enjoyed my
partnership/friendship with the Erickson's and plan to visit them
often," said Tolle.
With a 6,000 acre land base, many of Maryhill Museum of Art s interests
and projects lie outside the art world, thus the Museum sees itself as
playing a significant cultural role in response to social and
environmental changes as it relates to rural communities. The Museum s
base is in an area where agriculture, tourism, and urban expansion
continually interact, and new life styles arise and evolve.
The Museum is interested in new ways of understanding and responding to
these changes, said Lee Musgrave, co-curator of the forthcoming
exhibition. Plus humanity’s use of natural resources has been of great
interest to artists for decades. So this project is a natural fit for
the Museum.
While the $44,535. grant will help to fund part of the exhibition the
Museum needs to raise additional funds for the educational programs,
curriculum materials, brochures and related materials. We welcome
financial assistance from sponsors and others, said Schafroth. It
would be a great way to show support for a subject of interest to us all.
Maryhill Museum of Art is a non-profit organization funded by a small
endowment established by its founder Samuel Hill (1857-1931),
admissions, members, and grants. It is open seasonally, March 15 through
November 15, and is located on Washington Scenic Route 14 just west of
U.S. 97. It serves as the only major art institution for a 100 mile radius.
Published
Ray Pelley, our Martini and Wine enthusiast who captures both of these in photo real paintings has been signed by Grand Image of Seattle to produce a series of wine and martini posters. Posters are a great way for an artist to have national attention fairly quickly. Through Larry Winn and Grand Image, we know we see Ray Pelley across the country. We currently have 7 poster images of Ray Pelley in stock. Look for a few new works in August 2006 as well as a soon to be published Calendar of his cocktails.
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| Horace "The Wine Steward" Meets Michael Jackson
Horace the Wine Steward by Tom Kuebler who greets everyone coming into the gallery has recently been hobnobbing with the rich and famous. During the recent Michael Jackson Special on ABC, Horace was seen more than once lurking in the background offering his never ending service of wine. There were many shots of Horace and some of his friends at Michael's Las Vegas home. I wonder if Horace has any inside information about the recent Jackson scandal...come by and ask him...
On the same note, Horace was also featured in the February 24th 2004 edition of People Magazine for the same event. Hoarce could be an easy and fairly inexpensive introduction into the world of the rich and famous. Horace still sells for $5,200 and is ready to serve you. Cheers!
Come meet Horace's new Buddy "Nick" the Security Guard. Nick stands strong and silent at the front door greeting and protecting. He is also available for $5,200. |
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| See You In The Funny Papers
My mother always said “see you in the funny papers” and alas, she finally saw me there. On Mother’s Day May 13, 2001, The Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery appeared nationally in a wonderful 3 panel Sunday edition of the comic strip Ziggy by Tom Wilson. In the title panel, Ziggy is looking up at his home’s blank walls with his dog, exclaiming “Our house is lacking artistic ambience” In the next panel, Ziggy says “… We need some art in here” “…art is one of the essentials of life!” “FOOD, WATER, SHELTER and ART” he exclaims with arms waving. The third panel has a very distinguished art dealer standing in a gallery talking to Ziggy “…Welcome to the Gunnar Nordstrom Gallery…is there anything I can show you?” Ziggy answers “…yes, I’d like to see something in a paisley to match my sofa!!” The very distinguished art dealer only sighs and of course finds Ziggy exactly what he was looking for. We are never too stuffy to help you find exactly what you are looking for.
Ziggy has a new book out as of November 2003, Ziggy Goes Hollywood features many of his most recent successful comic strips....and yes....we made the cut. Read the Gallery comic on page 114. Wouldn't that make a great gift?
Many thanks for that great plug to our friend Tom Wilson and Tom II for their support and great comic strip. |
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| Matisse Sold!
Yes, “Matisse” the mistress of the gallery has been sold and is off to a new home in Southern California. Those of you that know Gunnar and his love for sailing will agree that it was a sad day to see Matisse leave her slip at Moss Bay. Matisse is a lovely 1968 30’ Shields day sailer that had been a welcome addition to the gallery and it’s clients for the past 5 years. Easily the prettiest boat on the lake, she was sailed often and she is going to be missed. She is going to join her own kind in a fleet of other Shields at Orange Coast College and The University of California at Irvine and will be well taken care of. Happy sailing Matisse! |
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| Whimsical Work Sells Well
Bill Braun’s trompe l’oeil and Thom Ross’ whimsical wild west paintings are continuing to do great and prices continue to rise on their work around the country. New Works coming in June of 2007.
Bill Braun was our featured artist for the month of June 2006 where we had 22 new paintings. Read a past review of his work by Matthew Kangas at: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=visart27&date=20030627&query=artists+paint+and+sew
Thom Ross' career is in fast mode with new shows, guest lectures, magazine articles and general public appeal. He has had a fabulous couple of years of sold out shows, International attention and the release of the newest version of Owen Wister’s book “The Virginian” which is illustrated by Ross. The 100th Anniversary Edition that was recently published by the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association in Cody Wyoming. . The book is available from the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association, Buffalo Bill Historical Center 720 Sheridan Ave. Cody Wyoming 82414 www.bbhc.org
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| Art isn’t a Luxury
With the economy in the country being somewhat less than we are use to, Kirkland in general seems to be holding its own, but we are looking forward to a better year with some exciting changes. New artists, favorite old artists and more sculpture are inline for 2006 and 2007. As we tighten our belts and try to work more efficiently in these difficult times, just remember…”Art isn’t a Luxury” |
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