Art takes flight at Gallery North in February when Seattle-based artists Martha Brouwer, Sandra Kahler, and Cheryl Richey will display their mixed-media paintings that honor birds as objects of art and guides to human imagination.  They will donate 10% of their commissions to the Pilchuck Audubon Society in Snohomish County.
 
   The three artists bring a diversity of perspectives and styles to their methods for creating avian-inspired works.  Martha Brouwer draws on her expertise as a graphic designer and often works with richly textured backgrounds and elusive images of birds using oil, acrylic, and collage.  Brouwer states, “In my recent bird paintings, I pull images out of the background, creating a blend of lost and found subjects.” Brouwer won First Place for her mixed-media painting of geese at the 2007 juried show of Seattle Co-Arts.
 
   Sandra Kahler, who has a Bachelor’s degree in fine art from the University of Washington, expresses her joy of drawing and painting in watercolor, charcoal, and oil.  She has been painting birds for many years and often goes to the zoo to draw birds from life.  Kahler explains, “I study bird anatomy and bird attitude so I can be more gestural in my art.  I want to catch their aliveness, not their detail.”
 
   Cheryl Richey, an abstract painter who works primarily in acrylic/mixed media, has been a bird watcher for many years.  A penchant for haiku poetry and Japanese watercolor styles has influenced her work.  Richey says, “My interest in avian-inspired symbolism connects me with others throughout history who have used bird imagery and metaphor in myths, parables, dream theories, and art.” 

Click here to sample the exhibition...