Featured Artist: Fong Baatz, February 2024

Fong moved from Taiwan to Seattle in 1987, and graduated from the University of Washington Painting Program in 2000. She has been featured in several shows and has received various awards during her art career. In addition to her time spent painting, she has taught after school art programs and helped run community program workshops. Her pieces are mainly portraiture and figurative with an impressionistic emphasis. She finds the artistic rendition of people to be a satisfying complex challenge.

Aside from exploring and developing her paintings, she currently teaches lessons and host open studios at her workspace in Magnuson Park. View her artwork and visit her website here!

Understanding Oil Opens in the Magnuson Park Gallery!

Understanding Oil, Fong Baatz’s Student Exhibition is on view from February 10 - March 1, 2024, in the Magnuson Park Gallery. This exhibition features students of all ages from Fong Baatz’s class, who have learned the foundations of oil painting through studies done from direct observation, such as still lifes.

These works vary in style and composition but are connected through the artists’ love of art and their shared mentor. Key elements that may be found across several pieces are techniques that Fong emphasizes, such as patchwork, subtle shifts in value and hue, and warm underpaintings left peeking through in the final results.

This show is produced by Chantelle Ma, Magnuson Park Gallery Intern. An oil painter and student of Fong Baatz, Chantelle has curated Understanding Oil to feature works made entirely by student artists of Fong Baatz.

Accompanying the artworks are flower arrangements provided by the Ikenobo Lake Washington Chapter.

Featured artists: Amy Xuan, Angelina Kam, Ariel Kam, Avery Mckay, Cecelia Wu, Celine Ao, Chantelle Ma, Chloe Pang, Christy Hao, Ellie Mu, Ethan Li, Gianna Zhan, Isabel Li, Jinhong (Anne) Wu, Jinze Lang, Madison Liu, Marina Hao, Stephanie Li, Thivia Mogan, and Varenna Ronald.

Join us for a Gallery Reception on February 17 from 1-4 PM.

Understanding Oil is on view February 10 - March 1 with special hours on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12-3 PM, or by appointment. Visit The Magnuson Park Gallery in Building 30 West at Magnuson Park (7448 63rd Ave NE, Seattle WA 98125).

Understanding Oil

Patty Haller: Bringing out the complexities of the forests of the Pacific Northwest

In the Pacific Northwest, foliage and vegetation commonly dot the landscape, no matter the location. But it's the complexities of our forests in particular that are exemplified in Patty Haller’s paintings, characterized by their large-scale portrayal of leafy systems and overlapping elements.

Chuckanut Sister, Dark and Plummy by Patty, is part of a larger series of work Patty created for a previous show. Armed with a vision of sisters growing up in the Chuckanut mountain range, Patty painted each piece to represent a separate sister-this one being “dark and plummy”-which collectively came together to tell a story throughout the exhibit. Now, Chuckanut Sister, Dark and Plummy stands alone in our Small Works exhibit, as if waiting for her other sisters to return.

Patty’s intimate landscapes date back to her experience in art school, where she began to focus on portraying the complex systems that were the landscapes in front of her. As such, her process is one filled with meticulous planning. One such aspect of her process is her color schemes, often chosen from her extensive collection of color charts. Through these charts, Patty takes colors schemes from effective pieces of art from art history, and applies them to her own paintings. The colors are tried and true, and saves her time with mixing up colors.

If you want to find Patty and her work, check out her newest work at Woodside Braseth Gallery in Seattle, her Instagram @pattyhaller, and Smith and Vallee Gallery in Edison.

Small Works From The Artists of Building 30 West opened November 2 and can be viewed through December 16. Also come visit our Open Art Studios event on Saturday, December 2 from 12-4 pm at Building 30 West!