Connect with seasoned artists
Summer is over and fall is here, but Toledo is keeping the coast colorful with First Weekend, a celebration of its vibrant arts community. The event offers the chance to connect with local artists at galleries and studios on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 2 and 3.
This month’s feature is the art of Marion Moir at the Yaquina River Museum of Art. Moir is known for her iconic watercolors of flowers, landscapes, puffins, sea life and maritime scenes. Many of her paintings are done en plein air, or “in the open air.” She has been a member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon since 1981.
Also a book illustrator, Moir has won numerous awards and grants for her work, and her paintings are in corporate collections worldwide.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art, located at 151 NE Alder Street, is open on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 pm. For more information, go to yaquinarivermuseumofart.org
Across the street, the Michael Gibbons Signature Gallery will be featuring “A Pumpkin Patch,” a painting of an autumnal scene in the Connecticut countryside experienced by Gibbons and captured on canvas.
Gibbons made the trip to Mystic, Connecticut, four times between 1994 and 2011 when he was a featured artist in the Mystic Annual International Marine Art Exhibition and Sale. On one trip to the exhibition, he set out to explore the state’s countryside to paint en plein air and came across the welcoming scene of a New England cottage with a sprawling and prolific pumpkin patch before it.
The Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery, located at 140 NE Alder Street, is open on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 pm. For more information, go to michaelgibbons.net.
One street over, Ivan Kelly’s Studio and Gallery will be featuring “Horned Puffins,” a painting of the distinctive shorebirds that is truly representative of Kelly’s style. Known for his paintings of wildlife, coastal landscapes and maritime scenes, Kelly has been a Signature Member of the American Society of Marine Artists since 2000.
His oil paintings have been featured in numerous exhibitions and have received many awards.
The Ivan Kelly Studio and Gallery is located at 207 E Graham Street and is open Saturday from 11 am to 4 pm and Sunday from noon to 4 pm. For more information, go to ivankelly.com.
On Main Street, Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio will be displaying the works of 15 artists. Janet Runger, the founder of Crow’s Nest, will be featuring her whimsical found object assemblage art. Also featured at Crow’s Nest are the works of Alice Haga, Val Bolen, Paula Teplitz, Jeff Gibford, Veta Bahktina and Tish Epperson. Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio is located at 305 N. Main Street and is open on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm.