Fearn paintings always in bloom
What drives oil painter Melody Laine Fearn is her desire to capture ephemeral moments in brilliant colors.
Her canvases include such fleeting scenes as twilight just before sunrise, a glimpse of abandoned farm equipment from a passing car and radiant tiger lilies at their peak.
“Flowers fade,” says Fearn in a news release. “I capture them on canvas so that you can enjoy that beauty all year around.”
Fearn presents 10 luminescent images in her latest show, “Captured Moments,” at the Gold Mountains Gallery in Republic, Wash., opening Wednesday.
“It’s color that gets me going,” she says. “I spend as little time as possible in drawing so I can begin painting as soon as possible.”
Her other canvases highlight garden, city and forest scenes.
An artist’s reception is July 22 from 5 to 9 p.m. in the gallery, 852 S. Clark Ave., next to the Northern Inn hotel in Republic.
View the work through Aug. 14 in the free gallery. Regular hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call (509) 775-8010 for directions and additional information.
s.m.ART on the St. Joe River
If you’re in the mood for a scenic drive this weekend and want a charming country park as a destination, consider the s.m.ART by the River Festival of the Arts at Cherry Bend Boat Park on the St. Joe River.
The festivities go from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Get there early and fill up on the Kiwanis pancake breakfast. It’s only $5.50 “for the works” and kids under 6 eat for free.
After strolling through the 50 arts and crafts tents, “relax under the shade of stately old cottonwoods while listening to the strains of folk tunes or the bright sounds of jazz,” says festival organizer Cheryl Halverson.
Entertainment is continuous beginning on Saturday at 10 a.m. with blues musician Ray Roberson; Keller, Melvin and Morse Fold Trio; and P.J. Destiny and L.G. Senelly. Performing groups on Sunday begin at 8 a.m. when Senelly starts the day with Christian music, followed by Harvey Stanley, then Alex Bedini and All That Jazz, with Senelly returning to wrap it up.
There is a hands-on “Art Adventure” area for children aged 4 to 12 on both days from 1 to 4 p.m. On Saturday at noon, raptor biologist Jane Cantwell will bring live birds of prey for children to see and draw.
The St. Maries Council for the Arts organizes this annual fund-raising event to help underwrite community performing and visual arts activities throughout the year.
Take Exit 34 off Interstate 90 and travel south on Highway 3 to the Cottonwood Point turnoff and follow the signs three miles north. There is a dock for those who choose to arrive by boat.
Grant Gallery group show
The William Grant Gallery is displaying works by three new artists beginning Saturday: potter Iva Talacko, photographer Tom Chasse and painter Eva J. Williams.
Czechoslovakian clay artist Talacko is showing her highly decorative functional ceramics.
“Due to the influence of traditional, Old World pottery during my youth,” writes Talacko in a news release, “I found Maiolica ceramics the most suitable way to express my artistic ideas.”
Photographer Chasse has been an “evolving” artist as long as he can remember. In his first professional show, he is bringing a variety of colored landscape and cityscape images.
“I try to get that special angle, to make ordinary scenery look vibrant,” he says in his artist statement.
Williams, a representational painter, developed her imagination while growing up in a small California town. “Like most children,” she writes in her artist statement, “I was fascinated with colors and the nature around me.”
She is displaying florals, landscapes, wildlife, seascapes and portraits.
The gallery, 820 W. Francis Ave., is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Meet the artists during a reception Saturday between noon and 4 p.m. View the work through Aug. 15 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
‘Above the Rim’ in Moscow
A new exhibit at the Above the Rim Gallery is showcasing printmaker Garrett Christianson of Seattle, painter Ty Olomon of Coeur d’Alene, and sculptor Jerry Kendall and photographer Dac Gullicksen of Moscow, Idaho.
In addition, the fabric mural created by Gerri Sayler for Moscow Artwalk will remain on display through Sept. 10.
The downtown Moscow gallery is located in the mezzanine of Paradise Creek Bicycles at 513 S. Main St. The hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information see www.abovetherimgallery.com.
Other galleries
“ The “Ramparnt Group” is showing through July at Far West Billiards, 1001 W. First Ave. Look for the two- and three-dimensional work of emerging artists Linda M. Lawrie, Cliff Hall and Jayme Aumann.
“ Wes Hanson’s acrylic and watercolor paintings are hanging in the Cottage Gallery, 520 E. Sherman Ave. in Coeur d’Alene, through July.
“ The Flour Mill Gallery features “Mosaic Journey with Gypsy Threads,” a multimedia show of paintings and Gypsy-style fabric art. The free show is up through August in the gallery, 621 W. Mallon Ave.