Autumn brings new artists to First Friday scene — and some veteran artists, too

First Friday for October features works by new as well as established artists. Artists with their first solo shows include Holly Brennan at Grace Ridge Brewery and Maria Bernier at the Kachemak Bay Campus.

At the Art Shop Gallery, Edward Hutchinson continues with his exploration of shadow painting, his white-on-white technique that uses painting techniques to reveal images through shadows.

At the Pratt Museum, longtime Homer artist Kathy Smith paints images of glaciers as a testament to the transformation of the northern landscape by climate change. Lifelong Alaskan Debi Poore shows paintings inspired by garden and wildflowers at the Homer Council on the Arts.

Several galleries feature group shows. For this fall, Bunnell Street Arts Center features indigineous artists in its programs. Its October show, the Kuspuk/Qaspeq/Atikluk Invitational exhibit, features work by indigenous artists Amber Webb, Bobby Itta, Carla Gingrich, Erin Gingrich, Nita Rearden, Darlene Wright and Martha Murray, all exploring the iconic Native Alaskan garment. Ptarmigan Arts holds its second annual Plein Air show, a format made all the more challenging this summer with Southcentral Alaska’s wildfire season. At the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies for “Drift … Tales from a Volcano,” 25 artists have created sculptures made from buoys collected on a marine debris clean-up on Augustine Volcano.

Other shows include father-and-son artists Jackie and and Cameron McGahan at Fireweed Gallery and, in a special treat, Bonnie Dupree at K-Bay Caffé. Atz, Atz Lee and Nikos Kilcher and friends provide music.

Art Shop Gallery

202 W. Pioneer Ave.

Paintings by Edward Hutchinson

5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception

Homer artist Edward Hutchinson describes himself as “the shadow painter” for his technique of white oil paint on white canvas. He applies paint impasto (raised up from the canvas) and fractaled (wrinkled in intricate patterns) so that when raised paint and fractals interact with light, shadows are produced. “It is the shadows which allow the viewer to see the images I create,” he writes.

Bunnell Street Arts Center

106 W. Bunnell Ave.

Kuspuk/Qaspeq/Atikluk Invitational Exhibit

5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception; 6 p.m., artist’s talk

The Kuspuk/Qaspeq/Atikluk Invitational exhibit features work by indigenous artists Amber Webb, Bobby Itta, Carla Gingrich, Erin Gingrich, Nita Rearden, Darlene Wright and Martha Murray. The exhibit is part of Bunnell’s series of fall programs to create greater equity and inclusion and honor the living indigenous cultures and stewardship of this land. In addition to this month’s exhibit, Bunnell features artist in residence Emily Johnson, a Yup’ik dancer and storyteller. From noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday is a “Make your own Kuspuk/Qaspeq/Atikluk” workshop with Bobby Itta, an Inupiaq artist from Utqigavik.

Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies

708 Smokey Bay Way

Drift … Tales from a Volcano, marine debris art by various artists

5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception

Twenty-five artists have created art using buoys collected during a marine debris clean-up on Augustine Island in June. Thrugh the community art project, the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies hopes to inspire people to think about their connection to the ocean and the marine environment as well as how the buoys drifted to shore, the human impact on marine habitats and what we can do to protect it.

Fireweed Gallery

475 E. Pioneer Ave.

Metal sculptures by Jackie McGahan and wood carvings by Cameron McGahan

5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception

In October, Fireweed Gallery doubles up on the art exhibits with metal artist Jackie McGahan and son Cameron McGahan, with his unique wood carvings. Jackie’s metal designs are inspired by his Alaska lifestyle while his son Cameron’s whimsical carvings depict both mystical characters and wildlife.

Grace Ridge Brewery

3388 B. Street off Ocean Drive

Paintings by Holly Brennan

5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception

Of her first show, Homer artist Holly Brennan writes of her work, “I’m the person in your group who’s always lagging behind because I’m taking pictures of ‘something interesting’ like weird rocks or rusty beach junk. As an amateur photographer I often envisioned paintings when capturing images of my life growing up in Homer. At age 33 I decided to do something about it and finally bought my first tubes of paint. I don’t know what I’m doing, but as an intentionally-overworked Millennial I cherish the unplugged time that painting offers.”

Homer Council on the Arts

344 W. Pioneer Ave.

Paintings by Debi Poore

5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception

Lifelong Alaskan Deborah Poore shows paintings inspired by garden flowers and wildflowers. Born in the Territory of Alaska in 1953, Poore was raised on her family’s homestead beside the Kenai River at Eagle Rock, surrounded by the wilds of forest, marshland, and critters. Her days are filled with art; whether corresponding, quilting, drawing, painting or playing with two precious wee granddaughters, art is her constant companion.

Of her work, she writes, “With this series, I’ve primarily used palette knives with water-mixable oils for the broad texture and layered colors I prefer. I especially enjoy a context that includes shadows, reflection, the ‘bounce’ of light, and mysterious depths. Hinting at time and place. I believe art is a gift we exchange for experiencing life. We live, and we create beauty. We give it away. A universal form of currency. An offering.”

Kachemak Bay Campus

533 E. Pioneer Ave.

Paintings by Maria Bernier

5-7 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception

In her first solo gallery show, Homer-raised artist Maria Bernier has returned after 10 years away studying and working in the field of motorcycle mechanics. Now here to raise her children, she has been studying painting with Asia Freeman. Inspired by her life in Homer and the local landscape, Bernier has an eye for drama and attention to detail, swinging from still-lifes and portraits to emotional landscapes with an underlying connection to the water andsea.

K-Bay Caffé

378 E. Pioneer Ave.

Into the Distance, paintings by Bonnie Dupree

Homer artist Bonnie Dupree shows work from her new show, “Into the Distance.” Music will be provided by Atz, Atz Lee and Nikos Kilcher and friends.

Pratt Museum

3779 Bartlett Street

Rivers of Ice by Kathy Smith

5-7 p.m. First Friday reception

Kathy Smith’s Rivers of Ice exhibit features new paintings of her record of various glaciers in Alaska as testament to the effects of a changing climate on the northern landscape.

Ptarmigan Arts Back Room Gallery

471 E. Pioneer Ave.

Second Annual En Plein Air Show

5-7 p.m.

Ptarmigan Arts presents the Homer Plein Air Second Annual Show, featuring paintings from this summer’s locations around Homer and the Anchor and Nikiski Rivers. Plein air painting embraces the challenge of being outdoors and capturing the constantly shifting light and environmental fluctuations. Speed becomes imperative, which adds to the challenge of capturing the essence of a place that relays more than just a visual message. The smoke and warm sun this year provided new templates from which the artists were compelled to paint familiar places in different ways because of the shifts in shadows and hue. Contributors for the show are Cindy Nelson, Karen Jackman, Diane Coreman-Spence, Kathi Drew, Annie Olsen and Michael Murray.

Photo provided One of Bonnie Dupree’s paintings in her show opening at K-Bay Cafee on Friday, Oct. 4 in Homer.

A painting by Michael Murray in the Second Annual En Plein Air show opening Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided)

A painting by Kathi Drew in the Second Annual En Plein Air show opening Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided)

A painting by Karen Jackman in the Second Annual En Plein Air show opening Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided)

Debi Poore pose by some of the paintings in her show opening at the Homer Council on the Arts on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided)