Northwest Gold Coast

Vincent Yee, Caricature Artist, enjoys his work.  His caricature entertainment is a clear indicator of his outlook on life and the fun he has living it while exercising his artistic abilities.  He offers his clients a blend of extravagant creativity, boundless energy and practical business sense to bring them the best quality service.

You may ask “What is ‘caricature entertainment’”

Vince (pictured here with self characterization) uses his artwork to provide visual entertainment for large and small groups.  He pens caricatures and cartoons at the rate of up to thirty drawings per hour (black and white, head, and little bodies) for events, trade shows, grand openings, business promotions, and parties.  His clients range from suburban housewives to the staffs of top Northwest-based companies.

Vince also does cartoons, illustrations, and animations.  His background was founded in the traditional applications of illustration.  He was trained in animation and multimedia at The Academy of Art College in San Francisco, and later at San Francisco State University.

Yee has been creating traditional cartoons, designs and illustrations as a staff artist in the graphic arts industry and as a freelance artist for over seventeen years.  He has also worked in the multimedia industry for five years. His experiences include creating storyboards for television, 2D animation for corporate training, CD games and art for kiosks.
You can learn more about Vince from our

Newsletter or by going to his website at
www.vincentyeestudio.com.

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Kaylen Reynolds, Quilter Extraordinaire, is one of a new breed of artists.  In recent years, the design and cost of quilting machines has made it possible for the devoted individual crafter to have his/her own quilting machine in his/her home.  This has brought about a group of artists that take the beauty of a simple quilt and make it extraordinary in much less time than traditional hand quilting takes.  Kaylen Reynolds is one of these artists.

Kaylen began sewing when she was eleven and was taught by her mother.  This hobby later became a business; she made and sold children’s reversible clothes for four years.  Being dissatisfied with certain aspects of the business but wanting to sew, she decided that her knowledge and experience in quilting put her in a good position to move in that direction.

For the past four years, Kaylen has been machine quilting out of her home in SeaTac.  Some of the quilts brought to her are ones just put together and some were pieced years ago by “great-aunt” and just never quilted.  The designs used in a quilt can make an incredible difference in how they are seen and appreciated.  Some designs are meant to “disappear” into the fabric; others meant to enhance it.  Some quilts, it’s the actual quilting that beautifies an otherwise plain piece of fabric (called whole-cloth quilting-seen here).  And while machine quilting is much quicker than hand quilting, it can still take 10 to 12 hours hours, or as many as 80 to 100 hours, depending on the type of quilting.

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Kaylen has also used her craft to help local schools and charities.  Over the past few years she has machine quilted a number of quilts for auctions for Seattle Christian School, Tyee High School, Highline Hospital and various other charities.  In 2002 Kaylen created a special quilt for the Point Defiance Zoo’s auction (seen at right).

Besides home machine quilting, Kaylen also teaches quilt design and piecing in her home and at local fabric stores.  Prices vary according to the type of quilting done, so if you would like her to quilt that completed quilt of your “great-aunt’s” that you’ve been dragging from home to home each time you move, you can contact her by email at kaylenquilts4u@comcast.net.

Even though I am a dedicated hand quilter, I can’t help but appreciate the beauty of Kaylens quilts—and envy just a little, the speed at which she does them!

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Camille. A soft-sounding name that is full of grace and gentility. There is grace in her painting, “Extinction” and gentility in her work “Allegory”, but this Camille, Camille Patha, is a composition of passion and purpose.

Pictured here on the right is “Scarab” currently on display at SW King County Chamber of Commerce, Tukwila, WA You will see much of her work has nature as we see it here in the Pacific Northwest.

Camille has been an artist for as long as she can remember. When probed to find out just when she knew she would commit her life to her love of art she stated, “I was a child then. What I paint now comes from living life as an adult.”

Her decision to immerse herself in her artistic creativity has been a boon to the arts. She received both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Fine Art from the University of Washington.

Thus began a kaleidoscope of painting periods. Her work in the late 60’s reflected her training as an abstract expressionist. Moving through the 70’s her work gained cleaner lines until she reached ultimate clarity in the 80’s. Her more recent work leans, again, towards the edgy abstract. She states, “If an artist’s work doesn’t evolve, then artistically, they are dead.

Her work, in all its various stages, has been and is being displayed in prominent locations all over the Northwest including the Washington State Capitol Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum and the Bellevue Art Museum.

Patha’s devotion to her life’s passion, art, is obvious. However, listening to her regale the antics of her cherished seven year old Blue and Gold Macaw, Paco, one discovers the great depths of her purpose, the ability to love. Married since age 17 to her twinkling eyed husband, John, this passionate and purposeful Camille has found, and is painting, her own exciting bird’s eye view of life, experience and love in the Puget Sound.

This second piece, “Tempo” is also on display at SW King County Chamber of Commerce in Tukwila.

To see more of her work, find out where she is currently exhibiting, or to contact her, go to her website at http://www.camillepatha.com/.

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Local artist Linda Fornas Ladzick was born and raised in Astoria, Oregon, the only child of Finnish immigrant parents. Her father owned and operated a neighborhood grocery store. Her mother was a hard worker who loved flowers, gardening and nature. She has always considered herself fortunate to have grown up in beautiful surroundings with two loving parents.

She then moved to Seattle, married and spent sixteen years in the airline industry.

One day, on a whim, she made a drawing and was startled by the result. It was like a gift! With much encouragement and support from her husband and others, she began to train with local and regional watercolor artists in workshops in the Seattle area.

Linda feels that her paintings are basically about color and her relationship to the natural world. She often paints florals, but enjoys other subjects as well. She looks for the joy in nature and in the simple things of life.

Linda has won several awards at juried art shows and her work has been commissioned. She is a member of Artists United, a fifty year old art organization, whose membership includes many renowned artists from the region. She also volunteers with Innervisions, a Pacific NW Breast Cancer Art Exhibit.

Linda’s art has been exhibited at several locations around the Seattle area, including libraries, galleries, coffee shops, community colleges and medical centers.

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SeaTac painter and photographer, Harry Johnson, has produced hundreds of works of art.  Many of these paintings portray Pacific Northwest landscapes and wildlife.

Johnson has displayed his work in art shows throughout the country, allowing him to travel.  On average, Johnson attends about 26 shows every year, one every weekend for a half a year.  While at shows, Johnson has been able to gain new inspirations for future paintings as well as share some of his ideas with others.  “Art is more than just painting.  Art gets you out among other people,” Johnson said.

Johnson has been a part of various shows including Arts for the Parks, the National Wilderness Show, the Audubon Alaska Wildlife Art Show and the Pacific Rim Wildlife Art Show Series.  Johnson has also been awarded many honors and awards for his work.  His favorite award won was through the People’s Choice Awards, for his work entitled Tumwater Canyon.

Johnson’s career turning point occurred in 1987, when he competed with 4,000-5,000 other artists and ended up being named as one of the top 100 national parks artists by the Arts for the Parks Association. Not long after making the top 100 list, the National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA) sponsored a series and requested that Johnson’s national parks paintings be displayed in various buildings according to their park locations throughout the United States.  The NPCA series was produced by W.S. George and the Bradford Exchange.

Johnson has been painting for as long as he can remember.  Johnson developed an interest in art when he was only three years of age.  By the age of 17, Johnson was actively attending art shows.

A number of years ago while working for an art gallery, Johnson secured a $27,000 commission for painting a progressive scene of the biblical book of Daniel, the third chapter.  The painting had a neo-Babylonian style, complete with soldiers, horses and chariots.  The painting is now displayed in Israel.

While outdoors, Johnson at times will paint nature and the countryside.  “You become so focused and at peace while painting; you get captivated by your surroundings.  You don’t just paint an image, you experience the image.  You also get to take the scene home with you; the challenge is getting other people to see what you have seen,” Johnson said.  Johnson also paints from pictures in his head.

Johnson uses acrylic, gauche (opaque water color), oil, pen and ink, and water color to create his art pieces.  The paintings are usually painted on canvas.  Johnson also spends a majority of his time working archival reproduction; he uses an archival printing press to generate faithful reproductions of the original paintings, both of his own as well as various other artists.

Archival reproduction allows an artist to maintain a painting’s best possible quality; this technique provides the customer with paintings that hold their texture without fading for up to 200 years, looking like the original.

Johnson grew up in Deer Park, north of Spokane, Washington.  As a young boy, he enjoyed going up into the hills with friends to paint the rolling countryside and the farms dispersed on the horizon.  Johnson graduated from Trinity Bible College in North Dakota.  While in college, Johnson painted signs and paintings of funny cars, to support his education.

If you would like to talk to Harry Johnson or view more of his artwork, he can be reached by phone at (206) 878-2158.

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Jeanne Hedington can’t count the number of works she has completed because they are too numerous.  And after over four decades she is still busy producing more works of art and is winning awards on a regular basis.

When asked about her life’s work Jeanne quietly speaks of these accomplishments and then quickly moves on to share with enthusiasm the stories that lie behind the works that are displayed on the gallery’s walls and in photographs in her fascinating table top album.

There’s the little girl who although dressed like a cowboy is quite unaware that she has put her grandfather’s boots on the wrong feet.  Then there’s the ballet dancer whose nervousness is subtly portrayed through the tension in her shoulders and arms as she sits and waits her turn and there’s the teenage ball player who quietly defies the very attention he craves while posing for his three-in-one portrait.

While Jeanne’s work includes portraits of celebrities such as Cesar Romero, Della Reese, Sherry Lewis, Michael Landon, Vincent Price and many more, her portrayals of people who are less famous glow with just as much energy and life.

One facet of Jeanne’s work that is apparent is that Jeanne is not afraid of contrasts like light and shadow.  The shadows on the faces of the people in her portraits speak as loudly as the features that are illuminated with glowing light.  They add a depth and richness that is seldom seen in portrait work.

Perhaps this is because Jeanne knows firsthand the strength of the enduring human spirit.  From age 9 to 13, Jeanne spent much of her time in Children’s Orthopedic Hospital undergoing treatment for polio. At age 17 she lost her father to a swimming accident.  In the late 1950s, she lost her husband, professional baseball player, Bob Hedington, and was left with three young sons to raise on her own.  Then in 1975 her house burned and she lost all work contained in it.

When asked how she endured these losses, Jeanne tells the story of how she just kept going.  She tells how she got her big break in 1962 when she was hired as a portrait artist by Disney Corporation.  During the seven month fair held at Seattle Center she made 1,659 portraits.  She tells how she went on to work in another world’s fair in Spokane in 1974 and how she has participated in mall shows in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.  She also comments on her work producing technical illustrations at Boeing, Seattle and her work as an art therapist in psychiatric hospitals.  She radiates when she speaks of how she used her skill as a portrait artist to pay her way as she has traveled through the United States, twelve European countries and Mexico.

Jeanne’s works (pastels, oils and sculptures) have been shown at Fry Art Museum in Seattle, Burien Gallery, Seahurst Gallery, Issaquah Gallery, Pacific Northwest Show in Bellevue, Edmonds Art Fair, Puyallup Fair, and Southwest Washington Fair.

In 1996, 1997 and 1999 Jeanne won three grand prize awards from Grumbacher, a nationally recognized art supply company.  In 1997 and 1998 she won First Prize at the Burien Gallery.  In 1999 she took first prize at Seahurst Gallery and in 2000 she won the Gallery Committee Choice Award at Seahurst Gallery.  She has also been a top seller at Seattle Center House and has been an art instructor for Highline Community College and in senior center and park department courses.

If you are interested in scheduling a portrait appointment you may phone Jeanne Hedington at 206.242.7065.

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SeaTac-based illustrator, political cartoonist and caricaturist, Valerie Gower, describes the production of each piece of art as being “like writing a script for a short film — the plot, the characters, the background and the storyboard all require careful development.” Gower’s interest in drawing began at age five. Her interest in politics also began at a very early age. Breakfast time was family time and it was a time of intellectual stimulation. At breakfast, Gower’s father, a shipping company manager with a photographic memory, would read the morning newspaper with his two children and then would quiz them regarding current events. This early connection between art, intellectual pursuit and politics, has allowed Gower to be very observant. As a result her artwork incorporates careful attention to detail. In junior high a teacher provided Gower with instruction in oil painting and encouraged her to enter her first art contest. Also at about this time, Gower realized that she liked illustration, especially Norman Rockwell’s work, more than fine art. Although illustration often must be produced under tight time constraints, Gower likes that it always has a clear purpose in addition to creating a feeling. Upon graduating from high school, Gower followed family tradition and went to Oregon State University where her father wanted her to study the sciences. Her art continued there as she created 44 portraits for her sorority sisters. Strongly drawn to the arts, she transferred after one year to University of California Santa Barbara to major in fine art. Here her professors described her as “extraordinarily talented”. Subsequently, work, marriage, and parenting caused Gower to lay aside her art for seven years. Then Gower began a career in illustration. Her first illustration work involved drawing two pillows for Fred Meyer’s. This work was followed by numerous illustrations for Meier & Frank, Bergman’s, Pay & Save, Nordstrom’s, the Bon, and many other department stores in the Portland and Seattle area. Gower’s first cartoon work was for The Beacon, a weekly newspaper in Ocean Shores, Washington. Through this work, Gower discovered that she wanted to learn more about cartooning. While in the Los Angeles area, Gower studied under Disney animators at California Arts. Next she studied computer animation in Bellevue, Washington. In 1992 Bev Cheney (the Seattle based talent manager and agent who “discovered” Brendon Frazier and James Caviezel) saw Gower’s cartoons and referred her to Los Angeles based talent manager, Barbara Wilmott. Wilmott then connected Gower to the Seattle Times where her political cartoons have been published. Today Gower continues to divide her time between illustration, political cartooning and caricature and portrait work. She regularly produces fashion illustrations for forty-year old Bensons, Fashions, Inc. (woman in purple dress above) in Des Moines and she does episodic illustrations for many other area businesses such as a caricature based logo she has just produced for Holcomb Computer Consulting. She also has multiple political cartoons in development each week and yet makes time for caricature and portrait work at private parties for Seattle area employers such as IKEA, Microsoft and Virginia Mason and at local events such as SeaFair and the Strawberry Festival. Having already created over 1,000 portraits and caricatures and many illustrations and cartoons, Gower’s passion for creating art drives her on to continue to hone her craft and to seek new opportunities for making even more. For more information, please call Gower at 206-550-1778.

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Local artist, Ruth Carpenter, is an artist for all seasons.  Twelve years ago she retired from the business world and returned to her first love—“art”.  She originally recognized this love at age six when she created an abstract “Nail on Shiny Paint” on her teacher’s new car.  Her recent work has been on more conventional surfaces and has been much more appreciated.

Experiences in the years between prepared her well to become a prolific artist who creates a wide variety of work in multiple media.  During those years she worked as a bookkeeper, construction accountant for a subsidiary of Morrison-Knutsen, a recreational vehicle sales person, and a real estate agent.  During 15 years of marriage she traveled to Australia, Israel, Paris, Yugoslavia, Morocco, and Greece and she became a proficient photographer.  Her experience as a photographer helps her really “see” the essence of what is before her in any setting.  As Carpenter states,  “A lot about art is just seeing what you are looking at.”    In addition her bohemian one-year sojourn in San Diego allowed her to explore her work in a fresh and relaxed setting.

Carpenter has further developed her art skills through many workshops and some courses at North Idaho College and a course in Sumi work at Highline Community College.  She also reads avidly to keep up with current trends and continues to attend workshops and art classes on a regular basis.  Just recently she began to teach art.

While Carpenter enjoys experimenting in many mediums, her most well known works such as “Lady Dancing in the Snow” and the abstract “African Queen” are produced in watercolors or acrylics.  She was commissioned to produce a special work, which included a painting of a doorway to an estate in San Diego where she had a show.  She also made Christmas cards for a customer upon special request based on her “Lady Dancing in the Snow” painting.

Carpenter’s favorite subjects are people, boats, and water.  She loves to do abstracts as well, but these don’t sell as well as more photographic styles.

Recently Carpenter secured the equipment to start working in digital photography.  She is especially intrigued with the process of converting photos to impressionistic graphic work.

Most of Carpenter’s work is produced in her studio located in Burien overlooking Three Tree Point and the Puget Sound.  Her well-equipped studio allows her to create, mat, and frame or shrink-wrap her work herself.  This helps reduce costs and ultimately results in a more affordable product for her customers.

Carpenter is also very active in local art associations such as Burien Art Gallery, Seahurst Art Gallery, and Burien Art Commission.  She is presently Vice President of Artists United a consortium of over 70 artists, some of who are octogenarians who helped found the organization 50 years ago.  Carpenter is actively involved in planning this year’s Art Walk in Burien, which will be held the last weekend of September.  Last year this event featured nine outdoor public works of art and involved 36 businesses in Burien, each of which featured the work of a different artist and showed the artist in action.

Carpenter also supports area non-profits through donations.  She has donated to auctions at St. Anthony and St. Francis of Assisi schools and the Burien Rotary Club.

In the past Carpenter found the Leavenworth, Issaquah, and Renton River Days shows to be her best sales venues, but more recently she has found shows closer to home to be well worth the effort.  She currently has a show in Cle Elum and will be showing at the Artist United at the Cove Spring Art Show on Sunday April 21, 2002 from 10am-4pm at 1500 SW Shorebrook Drive in Normandy Park WA.  This show will feature the work of some 20 artists.  (While this event is free to the public the Daily Perk Bakery and Café will be offering refreshments for purchase.) For more details regarding the April 21st event you may call 206-242-3778.  Carpenter will also be showing her work at the Burien Family Days event at Kennedy High School on May 18 and 19.

If you have questions regarding Carpenter’s work or the Burien Art Walk scheduled for the last weekend in September please e-mail her at carpp@worldnet.att.net or phone 206-901-1519.

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Local painter, Nancy Bogni, loves to paint from life.  As a result, much of her work involves people — people looking, eating, dining, walking, resting, playing and making music.

Nancy paints with watercolor, oil, pastel and gouache.  While much of her work has a softness and warmth that reminds one of Renoir’s work, some of her work is positively photographic in nature.  One example of this is the painting to the right which portrays Master Artist, Bill Cumming, in conversation with a young artist.

When asked about the origins of her interest in art, Bogni states, “I think I was born loving it.  In summers my grandmother would tell me to go play outside when I would prefer to be inside drawing.” Married just out of high school, Bogni put her passion aside when four children came in quick succession.  She spent 25 years raising her children - fifteen of these with her husband and ten as a single parent.  She also developed a career with Boeing as a draftsman and graphic artist. Bogni has studied under several artists including Sergei Bongart, Mark Daly (Scottsdale Art School scholarship), Tedd Goershner and local artists — William F. Reese, Deanne Lemley and Jerry Stitt.

In 1988 Bogni retired from Boeing and began painting and teaching full time.   As if making up for lost time, Bogni has been very prolific as she has produced hundreds of works of art in just 15 years.

Bogni’s award winning art has been exhibited at Northwest Watercolor Society, Edmonds Art Show, Puyallup Fair Art Show, Women Painters of Washington (including their Millennium Images show in 2000), Frye Art Museum (Puget Sound Area Exhibition, Celebrating Women in the Arts and NWWS 60th Anniversary Retrospective) and Puget Sound Country sponsored by West Coast Paper Company. Currently Bogni’s work is on exhibit at The Mercer Island Gallery at 8236 SE 24th St until August 22nd and is available for view and purchase at the Art Stall Gallery at Pike Place Market.

Bogni teaches small groups at her studio which is located with two other local women painters (Maryanne Perkins and Maxine Lawrence) behind the Federal Center South on East Marginal Way.  Bogni also teaches painting courses at the Highline Senior Center.

Says Bogni, “Creating art is like an addiction, the more you do the more you want, I love it all and am always, always searching for the artist within.” For more information you may phone Bogni at 206-878-5576.

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