Fun times in Everett

 

'Nautical Twilight' 34x32" oil pastel;
Kathleen Faulkner

The
Schacktoberfest Exhibition 
at
Schack Art Center
is from 
September 3 - 27, 2026

I am pleased to have three artworks in this 
Exhibition.

Night Light

 

'Night Light' 24x24" oil on canvas; Kathleen Faulkner

It is winter now, and the nights are long.

The darkness sometimes feels like a way to escape the business of living, moving, bustling.

I do my most focused work in the early morning.

still so dark

Maybe the darkest bit of the long night.

Bodies of water

 

'Bodies of Water' 11x14" oil pastel;
Kathleen Faulkner

An atmospheric river arrives.

It is loud.

Its effects are mighty on the 

Skagit, Snohomish, Nooksack, Stillaguamish, Puyallup, and Cowletz rivers.

We see good action, movement, and some panic. 

There is a lot of destruction.

Further West is the Salish Sea. 

Deep below the surface, another reality.

Can you hear the silence?

Night Life

'Night Flight' 10x10" oil pastel and oil on panel;
Kathleen Faulkner

Spending time on water can sometimes 

change my view of reality.

It is a different world.

Add nighttime, and it becomes surreal.

'Night Light' 24x24" oil on canvas;
Kathleen Faulkner

a little press

 

'Night Life' 22x30"oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

Here is a very nice write up on myself and this artwork

at

Showcase my Art

October

'Padilla Bay' 10x10" mixed media; Kathleen Faulkner

I will be in a group show for the month of October 

at 

Scott Milo Gallery in Anacortes, WA.

The opening is October 3rd from 6 to 8 pm.

I will be showing oil pastels, mixed media, and a few oils.

'Sea State' 12x12" mixed media; Kathleen Faulkner

From October 24th through the 27th, 

I will be showing in ART'S ALIVE at Maple Hall in LaConner, WA

The opening is October 24th from 5 till 8pm. 

'Tidelands' 30x30" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

and, of course,

My work is always available through 

Perry + Carlson Gallery 

in Mt Vernon, WA. 

Bay views

'Padilla Bay, Early Winter' 10x10" mixed media;
Kathleen Faulkner

'A Winter Day' 12x12" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

'Tideland' 30x30" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

'Islands' 10x10" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

'Looking East' 10x10" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

The Bay, on any given day,

is always different.

every low tide

all the tides

The water is always moving

except

for that small bit of *slack tide.

*what is a slack tide?

an excellent adventure

 2022

I am invited to send work to the American Embassy in Pristina, Kosovo.

'East of Here' 12x18" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

'Almost Home' 30x24" oil on canvas; Kathleen Faulkner

Art Handlers arrive to pack and transport.

2025

This morning they are returned. 

They have seen things and been somewhere

I never will see or be.

I'm glad they're home, 

old friends.

thinking about trees

'Looking at Trees' 30x30" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

I lived in the Aleutians.

There is a token mini-forest that someone had planted

decades ago.

Other than that, there are no trees to speak of

because of the intense winds.

From most vantage points

one can see, on a clear day,

other islands in the chain 

and the different weather patterns.

When I returned to the Pacific Northwest,

I felt claustrophobic for a while.

I still get very uncomfortable when the wind whips the trees.

looking at clouds

'We are Here' 18x30" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner


Our small spot in the world
is full of drama.

lots of atmosphere

Any day
can change
any hour, any minute

never dull

vista

'A Winter Day' 12x12" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

I have a good view of Padilla Bay from an upstairs window.

weather and tidal action

always different

always interesting

Later today, I will explore the area in detail

while breathing in all those negative ions!

'Padilla Bay, Early Winter, 10x10" mixed media; Kathleen Faulkner

hope springs eternal

'May you live in interesting times.'

Well, ok.

2024 has been an interesting year. 

I could write a page or two on the blows, hardships, pain and agony

but, instead,

I will focus on the positives:

My first Museum Show, the Highlight of my year!

'Silva Cascadia, Under the Spell of the Forest'

Myself with some of my work in this show

The intreptation of the Forest by twelve women artists

        Artists l to r: Donna Leavitt, Maria Cristalli, Claire Johnson, Karen Lorene, Kathleen Faulkner, Suze Woolf, Juliet Shen, Laura Hamje, Patty Haller, Linda Davidson; not pictured: Kimberly Trowbridge, Hart James                

I also began a relationship with Perry & Carlson Gallery

this year. I had my first solo there in April. 

Perry & Carlson Gallery in Mt Vernon, WA

Gallerist, Christian Carlson and myself at my solo April, 2024

See some of the work here

My jade plant 

bloomed for the first time in over 50 years. 

I took that as a good sign.

Then this

 

It is hard to be discouraged when my plants are blooming.

Remnant' 24x24" graphite on paper; Kathleen Faulkner

I recently joined Earth Creative 

I feel a real kinship with this group and

I want to focus my work more on environmental issues in the future.

We must choose our battles. 

We will have an exhibition at Perry & Carlson Gallery

in May, 2025

Meet the artists here.

photo of some plastic garbage in the bushes, a future drawing

This year was a challenge but good things have come from it. 

Next year may be even more challenging

but I have hope that

we can ride out the storm.

For myself, 

 doing artwork helps keep me grounded

If we take care of each other

and work together as a community, 

 I believe we will come out better in the end.

So,

Here's to an inspired year ahead!

Cheers!

*Sea Pie

'Poser' 12x12" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

 

That place at Washington Park...

It is a curve in the road. 

Over to the side,

the stairs head downward

rocky beach to the left

flat rocks to the right.

If you are lucky,

you may spot a few 

Oystercatchers 

hanging out on those 

flat rocks.

*Sea Pie,  shortened for Sea Magpie, is the original name of Oystercatcher. 

In the deep

'Twilight Zone' 28x24" colored pencil on panel

That other world

dark and dreamy, mysterious

a comfort for its inhabitants

Humans swim. We float. 

Do you ever wonder what is swimming beneath you

and looking up at you

as you float along

on top of all that mystery?

the fix

'WildWood' 28x42" oil pastel on panel; Kathleen Faulkner

I like to walk early in the morning.

It is quiet, no people.

I enter this divergent community 

that I feel more comfortable in 

than my own.

As I walk,

I breathe in the tree medicine 

while the bird songs

permeate the air.

It makes the day so much better.

Field of Dreams

               'Floooded Field' 18x24" oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

This field that grows our food

is flooded after a storm

It is an annual occurrence.

I am grateful for these fields.

They keep development away

thanks, in part, 

to 

Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland. 

something new

Claire demonstrating a general 

underpainting technique

I took an underpainting class this weekend with 

Claire Johnson 

at the 

Museum of Northwest Art. 

I am self-taught in the oil painting department 

so I was looking forward to this workshop.

I was not disappointed.

some tools of the trade

Claire demonstrated two different techniques.

This second technique is handy 

for night scenes and glazing.

My two underpainting examples 

that I will finish up at home.

Thank you, Claire Johnson. 

I learned so much! 

If you want to know more, 

consider her class next time!

Family reunion

Extended Family, Family Portrait, Family Tree'
oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

 I am pleased to announce that I have artwork

 in the Museum of Northwest Art's 

group show,

Silva Cascadia: Under the Spell of the Forest

This exhibition runs from February 3rd - May 12, 2024

with the opening on Saturday, February 3rd at 1pm

Following is a panel discussion from 3-4 pm

'Minders' oli pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

Featured artists include:

Maria Cristalli, Linda Davidson, Kathleen Faulkner, 

Patty Haller, Laura Hamje, Hart James,

 Claire Johnson, Donna Leavitt, Karen Lene Rudd, 

Juliet Shen, Kimberly Trowbridge, and 

Suze Woolf.

I can hardly wait to see all the great forest artwork 

in this show!

also,

I will facilitate a free collaborative drawing event on March 9, 1:30 pm

and

MoNA exhibitions are always free!

'I am Madrona' oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

Hero of a sort

'Low Tide, Padilla Bay' 10x10" oil on panel;
Kathleen Faulkner

I have watched the ebb and flow of Padilla Bay for 32 years.

I once worked an oil spill there. At the time, I wondered if the bay would ever recover.

It did. It took years. 

In the end, Mother Nature cleaned things up. 

Padilla Bay is known for its immense eelgrass meadow.

Some scientists suggest these meadows sequester atmospheric carbon.

Up to 80% of fish species and marine invertebrates 

use eelgrass during some part of their life cycle.

It is a place of magic. It keeps me hopeful.

We are in it.

 

'New Growth' 24x24" oil pastel on panel;

Kathleen Faulkner

I feel the change from Spring to Summer.

The natural world in its own time.

I watch the wildflowers popping up in the Spring

Then the wild roses celebrate Summer

and the air is filled with their scent.

People are happier 

It's a great time to be alive!