Madison Park Art Walk kicks off Saturday

Local artists to take center stage

It begins with a reception on Saturday and continues throughout the month of September at 23 different Madison Park businesses. It’s Madison Park Art Walk 2010, and the focus is principally on the art of talented Madison Parkers, though there will also be a few artists on show from a bit further afield—like Montlake, for example.

In all, more than 50 painters, jewelers, sculptors, ceramic artists and photographers will have their works on display as part of this first-of-its-kind neighborhood event. At venues from Anne Marie Lingerie to Maison Michel on the north side of Madison and from Tim Walsh Salon to Park Shore on the south side, the public will get to see a wide range of artistic expression. And, at least on opening night, there will be the opportunity to interact with the artists in person.

Among Art Walk’s participating artists is Brooke Westlund, whose abstract paintings will be on display at Park Deli (that’s one of her pieces shown above). Sculptor Else Cobb (that’s her work to the right) will be featured at Pharmaca, while artist Debra Thompson Harvey will have her art on display at Museum Quality Framing (that’s one of her oil pastels below).

In addition to the 18 artists who will have their works displayed individually, there are several venues at which the works of multiple artists will be on view. Madison Park Veterinary, for example, will display the work of several UW Natural Science Illustration Students, while Red Wagon Toys will showcase the art of students from the Bertschi and Epiphany Schools. McGilvra School artists, meanwhile, will be featured at The Children’s Shop and Bush Upper School artists will have their work in the windows of Madison Park Hardware. Also participating in Art Walk are the resident artists of Park Shore.

Some additional examples of the art that will be displayed during Art Walk are available on the lovely blog of my neighbor, Emily Heston. You can get her preview of the event at Splendid Market. Additional details about the participating artists and venues are available at Madison Park Art Walk’s official site.

All of the art in Art Walk will be for sale, with prices ranging from $30 to $6,800. A distinction between this year’s Art Walk and last year’s MadArt event is that 100% of the proceeds this year will go directly to the artists.

The kickoff reception is from 6 to 9 pm at Starbucks (4000 E. Madison St.), Saturday, September 11. [Full disclosure: my wife, Margo Spellman, is one of the artists participating in Art Walk, with her art on display at Starbucks.]

Madison Park Art Walk is presented by the Madison Park Business Association with the support of Key Bank, Starbucks, Madison Park Café, and www.dpixstudios.com. This is the art of watercolorist James Anderson, whose work will be on display at Tully’s: