April Artwalk explodes in vibrant color

April Artwalk welcomes home Raven Makes and Toriizaka Art gallery owners from art expeditions.

Stitchin’ Post’s Fabric Arts Gallery will display the work of artist Judy Hoiness, recently featured on Oregon Art Beat. Hoiness is known for her abstract landscapes that often incorporate watercolor and acrylic paint, stitching, calligraphic marks, collage, and mixed media on canvas and recycled cloth. Drop in between 4 and 6 p.m.

Hood Avenue Art displays award-winning Western artists K.C. Snider and Diane L. Farquhar Hallstrom. Snider’s work, inspired by the historic high desert, features realistic scenes in oils and acrylics. Hallstrom’s oils and acrylics are Western in style within an abstract context. Annie Dyer’s organic pottery designs reflect her training in Japan, using rocks, shells, and wood to create lasting impressions. A reception with music by Kurt Silva, appetizers, and beverages runs 4 to 7 p.m.

Clearwater Gallery, soon to be Rickards Gallery, is featuring the work of impressionist oil painter David Mensing, Iowa native who grew up surrounded by wide prairies and carefully groomed cornfields. Moving West as a young man cultivated his love of its wild places and the raw beauty that he expresses in his paintings. Meet David and celebrate with wine and light appetizers from 4 to 6 p.m.

Raven Makes Gallery owners traveled more than 7,000 miles visiting artists, resulting in new and exciting high-quality acquisitions. Owners Chris Morin and LaRita Chapman say it was simply wonderful to see artists in person again. Two new artists are Sheldon Harvey, Navajo, and Kolten Khasalus Grant, Kwakwaka’wakw. Harvey’s sculptures explore Diné Spiritual Beings. Grant’s masks are carved with precision, as he was taught by two Northwest Coast masters. Just ahead is the Homelands Collection, Third Edition. There will be a private showing on May 11, and the exhibit opens on May 12.

Toriizaka Art owners have been culture and art traveling in Asia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzogovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary. They are back home and ready for a Fourth Friday opening featuring the work of two Bend artists. AJ Evansen is a ceramicist specializing in delicate porcelain vessels finished with rare crystalline glazes. The vessels are thrown on a potter’s wheel and high-fired for an extended period in order for the crystals to form in the glaze. Marjorie Wood Hamlin is an abstract painter. Six of her geometric paintings created with copper and 23K gold foil on canvas are featured at the entrance to the gallery.

Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop is featuring art educator and illustrator Steve Mathews of Sisters and new work by the widely collected Baker City painter Nancy Coffelt. From the age of 5, Mathews has been an artist. He began as an illustrator and moved into ceramics, drawing, painting, and other things, including teaching at high school and college levels. He volunteers in the art department at Sisters High School. He’s known for his whimsical creatures (human and other) rendered on wood slabs with ink, fine-line markers, and colored pencil. Coffelt is also known for her whimsical animals rendered in acrylic, gouache, and metal foil on birch cradleboard.

Wildflower Studio is featuring framed and unframed works by Bill Hamilton. A longtime resident of Central Oregon, Hamilton paints sweeping Cascade views, local rivers, and wildlife in breathtaking acrylic colors. Wine and light appetizers will be served 4 to 7 p.m.

Campbell Gallery will not be open during Artwalk this month, but will continue to feature the mixed-media work of Lois Pendleton.

Sisters Arts Association (SAA) encourages visitors to patronize supporting businesses, including Big Chief Vintage, Dixie’s, and The SweetEasy Co., where jewelry creator Sana Hayes will preview the “Faith, Hope, and Charity Collection” — upcycled crosses (faith) and inspirational necklaces (hope), with proceeds going to Mustangs To The Rescue (charity).

Sign up for Quick Draw, for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to these galleries. SAA thanks Coldwell Banker Bain of Sisters for sponsoring Quick Draw.