Roaring into the Fourth with First Friday

First Friday for July starts out with a new twist on the usual gallery opening.

At The Shop out East End Road, in collaboration with Bunnell Street Arts Center, filmmaker Michael Walsh shows four new films. The hour-long viewing also includes some older films from the eclectic and talented artist.

While Walsh’s films will glow from the projection of light, at Bunnell encaustic artist Antoinette Walker’s paintings shine with the medium of wax and pigment.

Difficult to work with in any style, Walker’s encaustics stand out for her attention to detail. She’s joined at Bunnell by fiber sculptor Beth Blankenship, who creates vessels using machine embroidery on water-soluble fiber.

At Grace Ridge Brewery, painter Jen DePesa works share the space — or at least the parking lot — with movable art: the graphic designs of Rachel Tussey on BOB the Bookmobile, bringing visual and literary art to the brewery.

New artist Paul Muir, recently retired, shows what happens when you get bored and need something to do. His abstract paintings are made by making “puddles on canvas,” he calls it — paint he swirls around until he finds a desirable design. See his work at Fireweed Gallery.

Other artists showing include painter Bruce Nelson at the Art Shop Gallery, sculptor Jeff Dean as the Dean Family Gallery, Karen Roush at the Homer Council on the Arts, and painter Marali Sergeant-Smith at Ptarmigan Arts.

Reach Michael Armstrong at marmstrong@homernews.com.

Art Shop Gallery

202 W. Pioneer Ave.

New work by Bruce Nelson

5-7:30 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception; 6 p.m., artist talk

Bruce Nelson makes his home beside the salmon streams and mountains on Kodiak Island. As an avid outdoorsman, Nelson has been employed as a longshoreman, assistant big game guide and a skipper of a commerical fishing vessel, in addition to his work as an artist. Bruce likes each of his painting to be different. Through changes in style, technique and media his works might be whimsical, surreal, realistec or anywhere from humorous to serious. His primary medium is oil and this year he is doing a new thing. He has taken his original oil paintings, and with acrylic and plexiglass he is showing them off in a whole new way.

Bunnell Street Arts Center

106 W. Bunnell Ave.

New work by Beth Blankenship and Antoinette Walker

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

“I am exploring how all earthly things are connected by the smallest of threads and how we humans, willfully or unwittingly, alter those connections,” writes Beth Blankenship in her artist’s statement. “My newest work is a series of vessels created using machine embroidery on water-soluble fiber. My desire is to illuminate the fragility of the natural world as well as its beauty, resilience, and strength.”

Of her encaustic paintings, Antoinette Walker writes, “My work tells a story; I iconize Alaska and my experiences here, both on land and at sea. I express my creativity and experience through coastal marine themes that capture the wild beauty of my home. I work with an encaustic medium, which is a blend of molten beeswax, damar crystals, and pigment. The inspiration for these paintings is an image of time-worn canneries, set net sites, and fishermen working their gear as I travel on the ocean towards our fishing grounds in Bristol Bay.”

Dean Family Gallery

40374 Waterman Road

Seal Moon Rising, by Jeff Dean

5-9 p.m., First Friday Opening Reception

Along with refreshments in the gallery, The Dean Gallery holds an open studio to preview current progress on Jeff Dean’s commission for the new Paul John Calricaraq Project Health Center in Bethel, “Seal Moon Rising,” a 12-foot-by-5-foot wall piece made in engraved and heat tinted steel.

“The design aspires to convey the age-old patience of the hunter and the elusiveness of the seal,” Dean writes. “A man kneels near his kayak on a barren ice flow, patiently watching the water through a well-worn breathing hole.”

Fireweed Gallery

475 E. Pioneer Ave.

Landscapes and Clouds, Abstract Imaginings, paintings by Paul Muir

5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception

New artist Paul Muir shows with his abstract acrylic collection, “Landscapes and Clouds, Abstract Imaginings.” Recently retired, became infatuated with the process of creating a painting from “puddles on canvas.” Of them, he writes, “The puddle is like a cloud that I can manipulate by tilting and pouring off excess until I approve of the result. When the paint dries, I hang the finished piece, then rotate it until I see which way is most appealing to me.”

Grace Ridge Brewery

3388 B. Street off Ocean Drive

Saturated, paintings byJen DePesa

BOB the Bookmobile, graphic design work by Rachel Tussey

5-7 p.m., First Friday

Homer artist Jen DePesa shows both watercolor and oil paintings. “Each piece seeks to bring joy to the viewer using vibrant colors, and our inexplicable draw to water,” she writes. While watercolor continues to be DePesa’s primary medium, her strong use of color is illustrated in both mediums for this exhibit.

Friends of the Homer Library also shares the graphic design work of Rachel Tussey on BOB the Bookmobile.

Homer Council on the Arts

344 W. Pioneer Ave.

New work by Karen Roush

5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception

Artist Karen Roush is a visual artist and writer living in Homer who works primarily in oil and cold wax. Of her work, she writes: “To paint with abandonment — applying wax, scratching it back, dissolving layers, applying more wax and more texture, was endless. … With oil and cold wax, I have reached a new level in my work — a spiritual calling, reaching deep inside to allow images to flow through me as the medium.”

Ptarmigan Arts Back Room Gallery

471 E. Pioneer Ave.

A Sense of Place, by Marali Sergeant-Smith

5-7 p.m., First Friday Reception

Ptarmigan Arts features Homer artist Marali Sergeant-Smith. A lifelong artist who grew up along the shores of Bristol Bay, she presents a series of representational realism landscape paintings in her show. They reflect her love for her surroundings in Alaska.

“It is truly great land filled with beautiful sights, amazingly gorgeous vistas, scenes, filled with drama, joy, surprise, and/or quiet contemplation,” she writes.

The Shop: Kachemak Bay Art Space

60388 Bear Creek Court

New films by Michael Walsh

7-9 p.m., First Friday Reception

In a collaboration with Bunnell Street Arts Center, The Shop shows four new films by Homer based artist Michael Walsh as well as older works. The Films will begin at 7:30 p.m. and The Shop will open its doors for the evening from 7-9 p.m. June’s joint exhibition, Souvenirs of Stone, by Anchorage artists, Alanna DeRocchi and Jonathan S. Green will continue to be exhibited in The Shop gallery.

Also learn about summer sessions at The Shop. Open enrollment is still up for the Kids Summer Arts Camp, held July and August. There are many other fun summer classes scheduled, including master classes,taught by visiting professional artists, and other classes including plein air painting, welding, dyeing and pastels. For more information, visit www.TheShopAK.com.

A painting from Marali Sergeant-Smith’s “A Sense of Place,” showing for the month of July 2019 at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided)

A painting from Bruce Nelson’s exhibit showing for the month of July 2019 at the Art Shop Gallery in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided)

Jeff Dean’s “Seal Moon Rising,” showing for the month of July 2019 at the Dean Family Gallery in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided)

The poster for Michael Walsh’s films showing for First Friday, July 5, 2019, at The Shop in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided)

“Sail to Prop,” a painting from Antointette Walker’s exhibit showing for the month of July 2019 at Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer, Alaska. (Photo provided)