November Exhibition: Thankful for Nature’s Treasures

November’s featured artists at Blue Whole Gallery, Melissa Doyel and Julie Hembree, are thankful for many things. They are thankful to be living in Sequim, thankful to be members of Blue Whole Gallery and thankful to be surrounded by the natural beauty of the area. Their art is featured in the windows of Blue Whole Gallery during the month of November in a show named “Thankful for Nature’s Treasures”.

Melissa paints in both watercolor and acrylic. She doesn’t consider herself a landscape or portrait artist, but rather paints images of subjects that capture her attention and her emotion. “When we are out hiking, sometimes I see something that captures me and I just have to paint it! I’ll look at it, whether it’s the ocean or a flower, and say, how can I best portray that? I think I’ll paint that in acrylic.” Melissa, a former EBay project manager, is thankful to be surrounded by so much beauty here in the Northwest.

Julie Hembree is often found wandering the beaches of the Olympic Peninsula with her dog Rex. While Rex is off searching up good smell, Julie with her head down, is searching the beach for sea glass, shells or anything else that she might incorporate into her repurposed art. Her creations are whimsical and reflective of her creative nature as well as the ocean and beach. “After collecting shells and beach stuff for my whole life, I decided I had to do something with all of it. I sure wasn’t going to stop picking up shells and rocks!” And her unique art medium was born. She recently returned from a trip to the Caribbean with nearly an entire suitcase full of shells and rocks. Julie, a former teacher-librarian, lives within a few blocks of the Strait and beaches she loves. She is thankful to have her art inspiration so close.

Both artists are featured in the windows of Blue Whole Gallery in the month of November. Stop by on November 1st from 5-8pm to meet Melissa and Julie and see their show, “Thankful for Nature’s Treasures”.

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