Craig Kosak

We're delighted to be featuring Seattle artist Craig Kosak in a one-man show of oil paintings. The show runs through October 31. If you can't make it to the gallery, here's a glimpse at how it looks. You can also see every piece in the show at our web site.

New to Gallery Fraga

We're delighted to welcome William LaChance to the gallery. His paintings combine oil and encaustic to create dreamy scenes with soft explosions of color.

Born in St. Louis, William became a landscape painter and art educator, teaching at the University of Maryland and the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Art at Indiana University. He has also lectured at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and was an Artist in Residence at The Chautauqua Institute in New York.

William earned his BFA degree in painting at the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from Indiana University. His work is currently on display in our East Gallery.

Fooling the eye

It just happened again. A visitor the the gallery called out to her friend that there's a piece of tape on one of the paintings.

Actually, there's not.

The painting in question is by master trompe l'oeil artist Donald Clapper. And that tape is quite realistic.

But then, that's the point of a trompe l'oeil painting. The term is French for "fool the eye" and that's what the artists in this show are doing with their work.

Come in and see it for yourself before the end of the month.

April Show - Christine Reimer

Christine Reimer's work is gorgeous in the gallery. Take a look. Better yet, come in and see the show in person -- it will be up through the 28th.

A great opening - thanks, Christine!

Art lovers turned out in force on the year's loveliest day so far to check out the First Friday gallery openings on Bainbridge. People enjoyed meeting our April artist, Christine Reimer -- and we know the feeling is mutual.

Here's a photo of Christine with Kathe at the opening. You can find more opening pix at our web site. And go here to hear Chrstine talk about her work.

Welcome, Christine Reimer!

Earlier this week, artist Christine Reimer delivered her work to the gallery for the show that opens on Friday, April 6. After months of watching the show progress via emailed photos, it was a joy to see Christine's work in person again. Her use of color bring each scene to life in a way not often seen.

Christine will be joining us for the opening on First Friday from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Hope you will, too!

Megan Chapman's Show

Megan Chapman's work is luminous, practically glowing on the walls of the gallery. The show is up through March 31. Hope you have a chance to see it in person!

Why yes, we deliver.

Recently, with the help of artist Alan Jones, we delivered and installed one of his incredible (and large!) oil paintings. Our clients have graciously allowed us to share photographs of the painting as it now looks in their home.

So the answer is yes -- of course we deliver and install artwork locally and ship out of state and internationally.

A look at our February show.

Visitors to the gallery continue to be positively affected by Rodney White's incredible paintings. Here's a look at some of the work in the show.

Hear Rodney White talk about his work.

We're excited to introduce our new podcast, giving you a chance to hear our artists talk about their work. Our first podcast features our February artist, Rodney White. Hear him talk about the inspiration behind some of his work in the show and describe his techniques.

Check it out here. Then let us know what you think.

Thanks for coming, Rodney!

We were delighted to have Rodney White in the gallery for the opening of his show and for an informal gallery talk the next day. (He's shown in the photo at left talking about his work with one of the many new fans he has made on Bainbridge Island through his art.)

For other photos of the opening and Rodney's show, go here.

To see work from the show, go here.

Rodney White Opening Tonight

Picked up Rodney White at Sea-Tac last night. We're thrilled to have him here for the opening tonight. We invite you to come meet him and get his perspective on his work. He'll also be giving an informal talk at the gallery on Saturday.

Opening Reception: Friday, February 2, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Gallery Talk: Saturday, February 3, 2:00 p.m.

Inside Rodney White's Studio

From Rodney White's apartment/studio in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, you can see the Chrysler building glittering in the distance to the north. He lives in a building that has been converted from its previous industrial life to one of mixed residential and studio use. In fact, that's a requirement to be a tenant in the building. (In addition to other artists, Rodney's neighbors include a furniture maker.)


When I visited him a few weeks ago, I saw both recently finished pieces and work in progress. Rodney, already amazingly proficient at making new paintings look like vintage wood signs, is experimenting with ways to hasten the rusting process so he can create works on metal as well.



Rodney is passionate about both the typography that pervades his work and the positive messages that many of his pieces contain. His studio provides numerous examples of how he is continually refining his art, in many cases stripping away extraneous detail to get to the core of the message; in others, combining fonts for impact or adding numeral forms for their visual interest.



We're excited to welcome Rodney to the gallery for his solo show in February. There are two opportunities to meet Rodney and talk to him about his work: at the opening reception on Friday, February 2 from 6:00 until 8:00, and during his gallery talk on Saturday, February 3 at 2:00. Hope to see you there.

Rodney White - A Sneak Peek

We're excited to present the work of Brooklyn artist Rodney White, whose solo show opens on February 2.

Rodney's work combines the persuasive power of advertising with positive messages and unique insights. Inspired by poetry, typography, numerology, vintage signs, and advertising design, he creates graphically compelling mixed media works that are filled with color and simple wisdom. It's fun to discover the message in each piece.

You may have seen Rodney's work on TV -- it's been featured on the ABC shows Freddie and Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

Rodney will be at the gallery for the opening on Friday evening, February 2 from 6:00-8:00. And don't miss his talk in the gallery on Saturday, February 3 at 2:00.

A look at our January show

Haven't been able to make it to our January show? Here's a look at it. Click on any photo for a larger view. The show runs through January 27.

Birds of a Feather Artist Profile: J. Ross

The amazing mixed media (acrylic, paper, and wood) crow pieces by Whidbey Island artist J. Ross keep flying out of the gallery. And it's easy to see why: the artist combines a unique technique with an obvious deep familiarity with these fascinating birds. J. Ross's statement puts it best:

I am a painter.

My work has a depth, a thickness of energy, and lives somewhere inside the worlds of figurative abstract painting, folk art, and sculpture.

My work is an ongoing conversation between texture and form and Spirit and color.

For the last five years, I have been painting the spirit and energy of crow.

Birds of a Feather Artist Profile: Leigh Knowles Metteer

Leigh Knowles Metteer is an expert printmaker as well as an experienced, original painter. For this show, she has created a series of monotypes of crows.

What is a monotype, you ask?

It is the simplest form of printmaking, requiring only pigments, a surface on which to apply them, paper and some form of press. Each monotype is one of a kind, a unique piece of artwork. Frank Howell, the late Santa Fe artist who became an expert with the medium of monotypes, most clearly describes the process:

Monotypes are pulled impressions that were drawn or painted on a metal or Plexiglas plate. The images are created through applications of ink that are rolled, brushed, daubed or otherwise applied and manipulated and then, with the material, usually paper, that is to accept an impression, are “pulled” with the use of a press.

Now that the snow is behind us, we hope you'll have a chance to see Leigh's work -- as well as all of the other fabulous pieces in this show. It closes on January 27. Stay tuned for information about our February show of work by Brooklyn artist Rodney White.

Birds of a Feather Artist Profile: Jhenna Quinn Lewis

"I seemed to be born with a love and appreciation for art and nature, or maybe a better word to describe this is awe," says Oregon artist Jhenna Quinn Lewis. "Art is a universal language that can teach, or perhaps touch, us about ourselves and our world. It is a part of all our lives and surrounds us even if we don't notice or understand it."

Jhenna says she has always had the need to create through images on canvas. "The need is to foster an understanding of nature that is reflective, which suggests the presences of some unacknowledged mystery," she says. To Lewis, a painting is "a moment held in time." She believes that "artists strive to capture something in that moment and give it eternity.

"For me, paintings have a meditative quality. Through the manipulation of composition, subject matter, color, light, and shading, I try to bring out a subtle inherent quietness that the viewer can be drawn into. My hope is to create a state of mind. I have always lived in two separate worlds that unite the real and the imagined."

Jhenna's work has been featured in Southwest Art and other magazines. Her paintings are also included in major corporate and private art collections throughout the United States.

Birds of a Feather Artist Profile: Louise Peterson

Born in 1962 in Darlington, England, Louise Peterson trained in classical ballet at The Urdang Academy and The North London School of Performing Arts and performed with Dance for Everyone (London) and The Israel Ballet (Tel Aviv). Her dance experience helped shape her love of figurative sculpture. Louise is also a great animal lover, and has been involved with Great Dane Rescue.

Louise works from her ranch studio near Guffey, Colorado, inspired by vistas of the surrounding high country. She is an elected member of the National Sculpture Society, the Society of Animal Artists, the National Sculptors' Guild, and the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club.

Birds of a Feather Artist Profile: Terry Samilson

Bainbridge Island artist Terry Samilson creates stunning work in a variety of mediums. But perhaps her greatest achievements are her fiber art pieces. She told us how she came to love working with this unique material:

My dad lectured around the world and when he would arrive home after a long journey it was exciting to watch quietly as he would unpack his suitcase. Tucked in among his offbeat colored dress shirts and wide ties a swaddle of cloth would be revealed for my mother to ponder for sewing projects. She would turn wool tartan from Scotland into matching kilts for all my sisters, pima cotton lawn from London into smocked puff-sleeved dresses, silk brocade from China into a jacket and Mola blouses from the San Blas Islands into pillows. There were madras and silks of saturate colors from India, ikots and batiks from Indonesia. The glorious world of fibers arrived at our sewing table. Sometimes the fabrics were so precious that they would lay in wait in the closet for years for just the right pattern. Some are still there, too lovely to sacrifice to a pair of scissors.

And so my appreciation for fibers was nurtured during some of my earliest memories. I thought about British and Indian embroideries when conceptualizing my altarcloth for this exhibit. Their use of metallic thread elevates intricate patterns to a level of grandeur that I wanted to achieve for my celebration of endemic birds of Bainbridge Island.

Birds of a Feather Artist Profile: Janie Cribbs

Whidbey Island artist Janie Cribbs (pictured below with Gallery Fraga's Kathe Fraga) paints birds through a nearsighted lens that magnifies their varied character and curious nature. In this world, details emerge in a narrative context.

Inspired by numerous visitors to her year-round feeder and a chance finding of vintage stamp-sized bird trading cards, Cribbs continues to capture "life un-still" in this current show of acrylic paintings.

Janie Cribbs is also a singer/songwriter who performs throughout the Northwest. She recently returned from a series of shows in Ireland.