Visual Arts: Irish painter starts ‘Path’ in Spokane

Spokane is the first stop on Irish painter Rebecca Carroll’s first American tour.

A well-known artist in Ireland, Carroll is looking to export her evocative abstract canvases.

“Path to Your Door,” a show of 15 3-foot-square oil paintings, is set to open Tuesday at the gallery in Grande Ronde Cellars in downtown Spokane.

“We have been striving to mix our local artists with artists from outside the region,” says Dave Westfall, owner of the winery.

Westfall learned of Carroll’s work from his cousin, Maureen Peterson, who has been leading group tours to Ireland for more than 20 years.

Peterson ran across Carroll’s paintings on one of her trips and was impressed.

“We met Maureen in late August of last year,” says Carroll’s husband, David Griffin, by telephone from County Kerry in southwest Ireland.

“I remember it was a beautiful summer’s day,” he says. “You always remember those sparkling days when the sun is out in Ireland.”

When Peterson heard that Carroll was planning a tour to the United States, she helped facilitate a show in Spokane.

The artist’s other stops include Los Gatos, Calif. (south of San Francisco), and New York City.

For her three American shows, Carroll produced 45 canvases, shipping 15 to each location.

“The essence of my work depicts nature and spirituality,” she says from her studio on the shore of the Shannon Estuary.

For all her paintings, including “Paternoster” (Latin for “Our Father”), Carroll uses the abstract qualities of color, texture and marks to produce her pieces.

“I create spontaneously from my subconscious,” she says. “The emotions I encounter make me evolve and think more deeply about values and life.”

Carroll sees her first U.S. tour as a great opportunity to reach a wider audience.

“What has kept us going is the incredible help we are getting from the people in Spokane,” says husband Griffin.

Three events are planned for the Grande Ronde Cellars, 906 W. Second Ave.

The first, on Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m., is a reception for Spokane-Limerick Sister City Society members and guests. Call Peterson at (509) 534-4961 for reservations.

Next Thursday there is an artist’s reception from 6 to 8 p.m. with Grande Ronde Cellars Wine Club members. The cost is $10 per person for wine tasting. Call (509) 455-8161 for details.

On Aug. 3, as part of Spokane’s First Friday Art Walk, there is a free public reception from 5 to 8 p.m.

The work is up through August. Carroll’s first book, “Sunny Spells, Scattered Showers,” will be available. Go to rebeccacarroll.com for more on the artist’s work.

Sandpoint Artwalk II

It’s time for the second six-week summer Artwalk in Sandpoint.

A new venue, the Redtail Gallery at 518 Oak St., is having its grand opening. Featured artists are acrylic painter Robert Bisset and sculptor Mark Kubiak.

Coordinated by the Pend Oreille Arts Council, Artwalk II includes 23 venues with new shows that run Friday through Sept. 10. All opening receptions on Friday are from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Artwalk brochures are available at participating locations, Sandpoint City Hall, Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, in the POAC office at the Old Power House building, 120 Lake St., and online at www.artinsandpoint.org.

“Art Works Gallery, 214 N. First Ave. – art by Susan Dalby, Barbara Field, Barbara Janusz, Dorothy Modafferi, Connie Scherr and Kim Soares.

“Cabin Fever, 113 Cedar St. – Stephanie Bozich, oil.

“Coldwater Creek Wine Bar, 311 N. First Ave. – Ben Anderson and Alana Berk-Smith, photography; Jeff Strauss, giclee photographic prints; Al Lemire, gelatin silver photographs.

“Connie’s Café, 323 Cedar St. – Debbie Aaron and Margarete Holton, watercolors.

“F.C. Weskil’s, at the Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. – Diana Moses Botkin, oil; Sarah Hazel, photography.

“Hallans Gallery, 323 N. First Ave. – Hazel Hall, photography.

“Ivano’s Ristorante, 102 S. First Ave. – Chris Guibert, photography; Mary Alderete, Mark Kubiak and Rick Thompson, sculpture.

“Just Clever, Cedar Street Bridge, Public Market – Jerri Booker and Heather Guthrie, mixed media; Susan Dalby, watercolor.

“Misty Mountain Furniture, 502 Cedar St., Suite D – Lizbeth Zimmerman, tiles and jewelry; Tom Brunner, sculpture; Jennifer Macdonald, jewelry; Earl Wortman, sculpture.

“Northwest Handmade, 308 N. First Ave. – Dick Carrier, wood; Judy Pederson, watercolor.

“Northwest Mortgage, 216 N. First Ave. – Larry Blodgett, acrylic.

“Pend Oreille Arts Council Gallery, Old Power House, 120 Lake St. – “25 Years at the Festival,” a retrospective of poster artists and their work.

“Pend d’Oreille Winery, 220 Cedar St. – Tom Brunner and Jennifer Del Carlo, sculpture; Jenn Witte, mixed media.

“Petal Talk, 120 Cedar St. – Amy Hanson, sculpture.

“Racks, 502 Cedar St., Suite B – Holly Ann Geery, oil.

“Redtail Gallery, 518 Oak St. – Robert Bisset, acrylics; Mark Kubiak, sculpture.

“Stage Right Cellars, 302 N. First Ave. – Whitney Davison and Rory McCambly, mixed media; Tom Kramer and Robens Napolitan, digital painting; Cori Flowers, collages; Carver Kearney, photography; Jeremy Ossman, acrylic.

“Sand Creek Grill, 105 S. First Ave. – Mary Alderete, Derk Klein and Rick Thompson, sculpture.

“Sandpoint Art Commission, Farmin Park, Main and Oak – “Art by the Inch” project, sidewalk paintings.

“Taylor Parker Motors, 300 Cedar St. – Lou Baribeau, photography; Scott Kirby, acrylic; Patricia Ragone, watercolor; Gordon Talley, prints.

“Three Glasses Restaurant and Wine Bar, 202 ½ N. First Ave. – Leslie Alexander, acrylic.

“Timber Stand Gallery, 225 Cedar St. – Lane Russell, oil and acrylic.

“U.S. Bank, 201 Main St. – Jeannine, watercolor; Barry Barush, Joe McClay, Mark Heisel and Earl J. Wortman, sculpture; Kathy Meek, oil.

Tinman photo show

Photographs of rural landscapes, old trucks and digitized images of modern Africa fill the space of the Tinman Gallery in Spokane’s Garland District.

The second annual “Photography Invitational Show” begins Friday with an artists’ reception from 5 to 8 p.m. at the gallery, 811 W. Garland Ave.

The show features six Inland Northwest fine arts photographers: Shelly Murney of Cheney; Elizabeth Carsrud, Robert Lloyd, David Sams and Rick Singer of Spokane; and Thomas Bright, formerly of Spokane, now living in Grass Valley, Ariz.

View images by all the photographers online at spokane7.com/blogs/artbeat.

Cascade art show

More than a dozen aspiring artists living in the Cascade Mobile Home Community are exhibiting their work Saturday between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the clubhouse, 2311 W. 16th Ave. (off Highway 195). There will be sketches along with oil, watercolor and pastel paintings.

Art in Colville

Chelsea Capperauld of Pullman is displaying her small mixed-media collages at the Colville Chamber of Commerce, 121 E. Astor St., and next door at Talk-N-Coffee.

Capperauld derives her inspiration from objects she’s found “digging through musty boxes, harvesting from estate sales and plucking from the streets.”

Her work will be on display until Aug. 31. The chamber office is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m.) weekdays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Talk-N-Coffee is open from 7 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

For more information on the artist go online to chelseamargaret.com.

The Visual Arts column appears every Thursday. Send information about art openings and events two weeks in advance to Julianne Crane, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5435; fax (509) 459-5098; e-mail: juliannec@spokesman.com.