Bruce Block

I relocated to the Pacific Northwest in the late 1990's and instantly became addicted to the natural beauty in the region. I originally was a research engineer in high technology with a specialization in optics and materials. I began exploring photography as a hobby. After retiring from my engineering career in 2016, I have used my engineering experience and love of experimentation to develop novel techniques and embrace technology to advance digital based photography to new levels and to express my homage to the natural surroundings. My photography is inspired by nature and I enjoy digitally transforming photographs into something unique, different and bold. Sometimes my experiments lead to something new and exciting, and sometimes they fail. That is the nature of research. But more importantly, sometimes I see nature in a different light.

bruceblockphoto.com

Ron Pattern

I grew up on the north bank of the Fraser River in British Columbia. I remember sitting around the kitchen table with my siblings and cousins over the rainy winters drawing. Later, when I realized art was my calling, I studied Graphic Arts and Illustration at Douglas College. I graduated in 1979 and began painting seriously. In 1987, I became a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists.

In the ‘80s, I married and traveled around the US, eventually settling in beautiful Whatcom County where I continued to study and paint while I raised my two children. In the early years of my career, I focused on watercolor, studying the paintings of Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth, and Ken Danby. Wyeth’s paintings in particular, have always deeply influenced me. I started jurying and exhibiting with the NWWS and became a signature member in 1995.

I currently paint in a studio at the historic Morgan Block Building in downtown Fairhaven in Bellingham, Washington. I still paint watercolor, but also, I like acrylic and egg tempera. My paintings are in many corporate collections, including Peace Health, West Coast Paper, and multiple private collections. For more see patternart.net

Nancy Canyon

Ms. Canyon has lived in Bellingham, Washington for the past twelve years and the PNW for 30 years. Before that, she grew up in Spokane where, as a child she began to paint, write, and play music. Her formal studies include painting, pottery, and illustration through Spokane Community College and painting instructors such as Charles Palmer and William Elston in the 80s. Currently, she teaches writing and art, and paints water lilies and reflections in her studio, 1000 Harris, #6 in the Morgan Block Building in Historic Fairhaven. "I love to paint the pond where I walk my dog, Lucy, daily."

www.nancycanyon.com

Caitlin Garvey

Caitlin Garvey (b. 1970, Brooklyn, New York) is a Virginia-based photographer whose work explores the themes of identity and relationship. Drawing inspiration from the Shenandoah Valley where she resides, her art often utilizes nature as a metaphor to explore the concepts of self and belonging, while in relationship with one’s community and environment. Garvey received a B.A. in journalism, a M.A. in English literature, a J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law, and an L.L.M in international law from American University. She has worked as an attorney, a librarian, a historical interpreter and a teacher.

Her work has been widely shown in galleries including juried shows at the Museum of the Shenandoah, Athenaeum Gallery, Darkroom, 1650 Gallery, the Art League, the Valley Educational Center for the Creative Arts, Muse Winery, and the Falls Church Arts Center. Her art has been featured by the “Mountain Courier”, the Tiny Seed Literary Journal, Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America, the Gardener’s of America, and the American Horticultural Society. She was the featured artist in the “Mass on the Epiphany in Creation, A Eucharist Drawing on the Poetry of Mary Oliver'' where her images were projected on the walls of St. Aidan’s Epsicoal Church accompanied by the poetry of Mary Oliver and the words of the mass.

Among her honors, Garvey was listed as a “Must See” exhibit for the Climate Arts Beat Calendar in 2023 and 2024, was awarded a Bronze Award by J. Mane Gallery, earned “Honorable Mention” at the Moscow International Foto awards and also at the Neutral Density Photography Awards and “Best in Show '' and the “People’s Choice” awards in a juried show at the Valley Educational Center for the Creative Arts. Most recently, she was honored to have her work included in the Woodstock Banner project, received 1st Place in the Photography Show at the Valley Educational Center for the Creative Arts, had a 2-person exhibit at Muse Vineyards in Virginia, and is a featured artist at Fox Meadow Winery.

www.caitlingarvey.net

Brian Hallas

Brian Hallas is an award-winning abstract digital photographer whose latest works focus on the flora that decorates his daily life. His photographic improvisations are often kaleidoscopic in nature, resulting in “hallucinatory blooms of the imagination.” The work is frequently quite painterly, thus altering the character of photography itself. His images have been shown in galleries and museums throughout the United States, and hang in several private collections in the US and elsewhere. Brian has also been featured in a number of both print and online magazines, and collaborates with several artists across the globe.

Brian enjoyed a long career in the theater as a sound designer and performer, and has been an associate of National Medal of the Arts recipient Ping Chong since 1983. Many years ago, he adopted photography as a medium for expression upon becoming a schoolteacher, where economy of effort to achieve maximum effect is a key to survival. He now works at a local nursery as a gardener, which feeds his daily rituals of taking, processing and posting his photographs. Among the multitudes of perks afforded by a life in the Arts, Brian has especially been fortunate to feast in many parts of the world where he otherwise would never have dined.

https://brianhallas.myportfolio.com/brian-hallas-abstract-imaginitive-realism