Art in the Garden Bash

 Featured Artists

CRAIG BARBER

My project documents food production on small farms in the early 21st century in North America.  These photographs provide an introduction into the daily work lives of farmers; the non-stop tasks of planting and cultivating, irrigating and harvesting, preparing crops for market, livestock care and management.  The list endlessly loops, year after year. This is a glimpse of what it takes to feed us. While my project focuses on a small region of the Pacific North West, the tasks of farmers are universal.

I live and work in the Skagit River Valley, 90 miles north of Seattle where over 90 crops are grown in its rich soil. The farms I am documenting are small and operate primarily as organic farms. Most of the farm owners and farmworkers have lived here for generations. Many immigrated from Holland, Mexico and Scandinavia.

I photograph most days, returning to the same roads and fields through each season and in all kinds of weather. This is important, as it allows me to see and capture the changes on the farms. The land is at times lush with crops or newborn sheep, sometimes stark as harvest ends. It is different every day. My daily approach informs an intimate story of this beautiful landscape that was created by farmers (reclaimed from the sea) and is now hard worked by them. It’s a dynamic and vital landscape that feeds a vast community.

JENNIFER BOWMAN

Artist’s Statement:  “I believe everyone is an artist in some way, whether it is the presentation of a fine meal or the construction of a beautiful home, the wording of a contract or the way a mother raises a child. Each of us has the ability to make art.  Mine just happens to be in paint.” 

Jennifer Bowman is an award winning international artist who has been exhibiting and competing professionally for the past 25 years. She has shown throughout the Puget Sound region, Arizona, California, and Mexico.   Her work can be found in both private and corporate collections locally to international collections including France and the Netherlands. Through her sales rep at Island International Artists, she has work in over 185 galleries in the United States.

Jennifer traveled from Seattle to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and back again on a sailboat from 1996 to 1998.  During that time, she was able to spend an intensive year mastering her techniques. Her paintings focused on colorful market scenes, images of bougainvillea-draped buildings, and realistic renditions of the cruising community’s yachts in tropical settings.

After returning to the states, she spent a year in San Diego where she was commissioned to paint over 40 boat portraits. That number has tripled since then. Her work has graced the cover of 48 Degrees North 12 times and has been the Artist for Whidbey Island Race week for two years. The varied and vivid scenic backgrounds of the many boat paintings enhanced Jennifer’s ability to portray nature’s moods.  She is the winner of the coveted Skagit Valley Tulip poster contest and the creator of the Edmonds Arts Festival poster as well.  In 2005, her creation was chosen for the Washington State Heirloom Birth Certificate.  More of her can be found on www.jenniferbowman.com.

She teaches 6 workshops a year near her hometown of Anacortes, Washington. In the winter she teaches workshops in Mexico. She divides her time between that, kayaking and growing dahlias for sport. 

JAY BOWEN

Born into a traditional Upper Skagit family, I was mentored in the responsibility of God-given gifts. Raised in the Skagit Valley Washington, I got my higher education at Western Washington University, Institute of American Indian Arts, and Rhode Island School of Design.

My Family

I have practiced my art and raised four children while making custom fine jewelry and other mediums. To date my art includes poetry, steel sculpture, glass blowing, fine gold jewelry and oil paintings

I like to connect to the spiritual world and my walk as an intimate experience. My paintings are healing and are all meant to be medicine. My sculptures are healing and uniting humanity in a common goal of understanding and concerns for each other’s lives. My poetry speaks of the human experience, unspoken. I use the power color and movement to express the life around us.

I have learned to live in two worlds and find common ties. I refer to myself as an artist and define myself as an Expressionist.

GARY BROWN

Our home has a canvas before and behind us.  The windows are the frames.

Susan and I live between Mount Vernon and La Conner, Washington.  There is a constant display of varying light and shadow.  Tractors, trucks and cars mix frequently on our little road.  For forty-five years we’ve witnessed the pulse and change of the land.

This country has given our family the joy of appreciating light, shadow, mist and fog.

My creative process is one of dependence on serendipity and often just slow thought.  I’ve kept a camera in my car for years and see beauty constantly on my way to and from town.

A note pad is also handy and it helps to jot down thoughts as the images come.  Later I often post them both on Instagram and Facebook.  (@garylbrownphotography and Gary Brown Photography)

I often drive out to catch the mist, sunset or sunrise.  For inspiration I look for the light exposing the land, farmers, field workers, and the movement of machines.

In 2024 one of my images was chosen as the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival poster.  The opportunity to meet visitors and discuss the valley, farms and crops was a real joy.

My images are displayed at Skagit Valley Hospital, the office building and the new clinic downtown, and in homes in town and on many farms in the valley.

I have friends who are farmers, field workers, fishermen, painters, photographers, bicyclists, hunters, poets and musicians.  They all have appreciated this place, and have influenced me.

My hope is that the images help us pause and consider where we are, and the incredible gift of this land.  Appreciating its value will help us to direct its future.

The Skagit Valley Symphony contributes to the beauty of living here, its music being woven into our hearts, emotion and into the sounds of the land.

MARGARET CARPENTER ARNETT

Margaret Carpenter Arnett was born and educated in England and has lived most of her adult life in the western United States. Artist, art therapist, teacher, writer, mother, and grandmother, she is an accomplished and talented painter. Primarily a watercolorist, Margaret now works with pastel, mixed media and collage. She is a signature member of the Northwest Pastel Society and participates in juried and invitational shows.

Combining her art and nursing backgrounds, Margaret became an art therapist in !983 and led an art therapy support group at the University of Washington Cancer Center for sixteen years. She has worked as an art therapist in the community at large for forty years, and currently leads a group in Visual Journaling,

Believing that art facilitates healing both through self-expression, and as a key to the door of the unconscious mind, she wrote “The Art of the Inner Journey” in 2011, This was re-published in full color in 2023 and is available on Amazon, and Barnes Noble . Her memoirs "Invisible Threads" was published in 2022 and is available on Amazon.

ANN DAVENPORT

I enjoy the wonder of exploring and learning, while creating my own spin on what I see in this amazing world. Whether traveling abroad or around the Pacific Northwest, my focus is on light, color, and the beauty of life. I use Oil, Acrylic, Pastel, pen and ink, and watercolors to best interpret how I see the world and what it means to me. My ultimate goal is to capture life, movement, and to bring a smile or spark of wonder to others through my art.

MARGARET HORAK

Margaret finds inspiration daily in the natural beauty of Skagit County. She also frequently creates commissioned works basedon a client’s idea or image. She has created numerous posters and flyers for local events and has donated art works to many worthy local non-profit organizations and causes.

You can find Margaret teaching watercolor painting at Ristretto twice a month on Wednesdays. She also teaches at Mystic Art Supply in La Conner, WA. Contact her for dates and times.

Margaret also offers watercolor painting trips to Morocco (April 2024) and Santa Fe, NM (October 2024).

You’ll notice that her work is generally not under glass. She usesa cold wax technique that protects the art as well as making it easier to see without the glare. Margaret is a member of the Urban Sketchers, Anacortes Sketchers group, Skagit Artists, and The Painted Ladies (a watercolor group). She plans to continue her lifelong passion of artistic discovery through painting and music. Look for Margaret on Facebook (@marghhorak), Instagram (@marghorak) and online at www.margarethorak.com

GRAHAM & NANCY KERR

Nancy and Graham Kerr met and married in December 2023. Nancy, an abstract artists for five decades mostly in acrylic, has begun a series of canvases designed to accompany poems written by her new husband formerly known as international television's Galloping Gourmet.

Two gifts, two artists, make room for each other's talents by falling in love at age 90.

This will be their first public showing, they expect a major collection by August 2025, God willing!

JON MILLS

Born in 1946 in England, a baby boomer, to a military family. l travelled extensively with my family in my early years. After school in 64 l studied Architecture qualifying in 72. In 76 , the Oil Crises years ,  l went to work in Africa with my young family. Back in England in 84 l took a job as Senior Architect with the Bermuda Government. In 90 my job was Bermudianised. Through the 90s I worked as an artist , working mostly in watercolour, selling in the local galleries.

In 2002 l met my second wife Peggy Bissell, a doctor. In 2004 we came to Skagit County for her work. We bought and renovated a farmhouse in Bow. In 2012 Peggy was diagnosed with breast cancer, after a long brave struggle she passed away in 2020.

l bought a new house in Bow after selling the Farmhouse and am also now a US citizen. All of this time here I have carried on painting and now also work in oils. I will basically paint any subject that takes my fancy, Boats, Snow scenes, Trains, Birds, Landscapes, Venice, etc etc. l participated in a group show at the Anacortes Depot in 2008, and recently had a one man show at Buxton's in Anacortes.

LAVONE NEWELL-REIM

Swedish immigrants, Otto and Mathilda Larson, acquired this Fir Island property around 1900, farming it until 1967. It was sold to a neighboring farmer the following year who separated the barn and house from an abutted 80-acre farm, selling off a two-and-a-half-acre parcel. Lavone purchased that property in 1972. She then began her decades-long journey of creating a garden people would love to visit. Dick joined her in that mission in 2002.

Lavone taught Art and English at Cascade Middle School in Sedro-Woolley for 23 years. Dick worked for the Stanwood School District for 32 years as a schoolteacher for three years, and then as an administrator for 29 more, retiring in 1996.

Lavone and Dick Reim were introduced by Dick’s sister-in-law, Kathy Reim in 1996, though they didn’t see each other again until 2000 when they began their adventure together. They danced, enjoyed art and loved to travel. On a trip to the Canary Islands Dick decided it was time to pop the question. After getting the blessing of Lavone’s children, they married on September 6, 2003 in these beautiful grounds. A boxwood dance floor was set up for the special day so Dick and Lavone could perform their first dance in their beloved garden, an Argentine Tango taught to them by a dear friend of Lavone’s who was a dance instructor in Seattle. Dick says he will always remember the beauty of Lavone dressed all in black with her strikingly beautiful black hair and red lips, which held a rose.

Together they loved and improved the property for the next 19 years, displaying many art pieces amidst the landscaping, and adding unique and rare plantings. Dick tells everyone he is the “Official Weed Puller.” Throughout their years at what became known as Skagit City Studio and Gardens, Lavone shared the barn and other structures with her fellow talented Skagit artists, with many participating in regular gatherings. The Barn Shows 1987 - 2003, was authored by Lavone and Cathy Stevens, her dear photographer friend.

Skagit City Gardens includes a wisteria walk with a garden swing for rest breaks while weeding, a roof garden, an English garden, a butterfly garden, and a vegetable garden which includes
an asparagus bed planted by the Larson’s in 1910. Interspersed throughout the property is a selection of unique trees, shrubs, and perennials. Their gardens were a six-page feature in Country Garden’s Fall 2015 Special Interest Publication magazine. Several horticulturists from Great Britain have also found their way to the gardens. Andrea Jones, whose photos appeared often in ‘English Garden Magazine,’ spent two days photographing the gardens. Two of those photos are in the book, Trees of the World authored by Noel Kingsbury. Mary Toomey of Scotland, author of the dictionary on clematis, stopped by on her way to a Whatcom Horticultural Society meeting in Bellingham. She was the evening speaker for their meeting and a delightful visitor. Her term for the Reim’s garden was “a truly layered garden built over many years.” Skagit City Gardens has been the site of many tours and fund-raising events to benefit organizations dear to Lavone and Dick.

Lavone passed away in 2021. Dick continues to care lovingly for the property with thoughts of her ever on his mind.

TRACEY SCHAFER

My name is Tracey Schafer. I was born and raised in the Skagit Valley. As a child, I was always drawing--doodling animals and objects and things I’d seen on TV. While raising my family I was an oncology nurse. There I met a talented Watercolor patient 14 years ago. He introduced me to Watercolor painting, lent me his art supplies and shared his artistic knowledge. He said “you can do this! “. I’ve been hooked ever since! I love to paint what moves, excites and challenges me, such as birds, animals, and people. I feel if you can capture a look or their eye, it can draw you in. To me, Watercolor is also about capturing the light without white paint. Saving white areas allows your eyes to fill in the rest. I hope you feel the same!

ROGER SMALL

I make art because I believe my work can make a difference in the lives of people, which ultimately makes the world a better place. As a young art student, my college art professor had a profound impact on my interest in art. It was in his class that I learned to use texture as a means of expression in my painting. This became my favorite tool that I use in everything I do artistically.

While raising my family of four children, I worked as a Union Ironworker. Throughout my 35 year career I worked in every facet of the trade including supervision, welding, and teaching in the apprenticeship program. After retiring in 2007, I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of working as a fulltime artist. Having the time and resources, I was then able to devote myself to painting daily. This led to the development of my signature palette knife style of painting as well as mixed media techniques.

In 2013 I began designing and building metal sculptures. This progression for me was a naturalone, having had an extensive background in welding and fabrication.

I was born and raised in Skagit Valley, and it’s diverse beauty continually serves as an inspiration for my creativity.

We will have raffle tickets available for purchase for Roger Small’s “The Watchman”, pictured below.