Orca Studio...
Artwork of John R. Matthews
Album
"We
work not only to produce but to give value to time"
— Eugene Delacroix - Painter
"You
should keep on painting no matter how difficult it is, because this is all part
of experience, and the more experience you have, the better it is ... unless it
kills you, and then you know you have gone too far."
— Alice Neel - Painter
"Most
important, for openers, work six hours a day, seven days a week for six years.
Then if you like it you can get serious about it."
— Alex Katz - Painter
"When
you look back on a lifetime and think of what has been given to the world by
your presence, your fugitive presence, inevitably you have to think of your art,
whatever it may be, as the gift you have made to the world in acknowledgment of
the gift you have been given, which is the life itself. And I think the world
tends to forget that this is the ultimate significance of the body of work each
artist produces. It is not an expression of the desire for praise or
recognition, or prizes, but the deepest manifestation of your gratitude for the
gift of life."
— Stanley Kunitz - Poet
Orca Studio exists on the web and in real life
Artwork consists of acrylic painting, digital painting, and photography
For more than a dozen years, I sought to become a full-time artist, and to have my own gallery. Thanks to my wife's exuberant support (she tried to get me to purchase a building, for a gallery, on North Monroe street in Spokane, WA - we would live like Bohemians upstairs) and my retirement, I have come to realize most of our dream. Originally, Orca Studio was to be located on one of the well-populated San Juan Islands in Northwestern Washington state. Instead, Orca Studio is where I work daily and the brick-and-mortar gallery became a website. I know it ain't over until it's over, but this feels right, and I've got stuff to do right here where I'm at.
Some Past Exhibitions
Gallery West - Bellingham, WA
Pacific Marine Gallery - Bellingham, WA
Heritage Gallery - Mt. Vernon, WA
Amenities Gallery - LaConner, WA
National Museum of Naval Aviation - Pensacola, FL
A Means of Expression Gallery - Pensacola, FL
Gulf Breeze Public Library - Gulf Breeze, FL
Gulf Breeze Celebrates The Arts Member Show - Gulf Breeze, FL
Texar's Art On The Bayou - Pensacola, FL
NAS Whiting Field - Milton, FL
Aviation Plaza - NAS Pensacola, FL
Down Under Gallery & Framing - Spokane Valley, WA
Art, Music & More - Spokane Valley, WA
Avenue West Gallery - Spokane, WA
Living Artists 13th Ed. - ArtNetwork Press (2003)
Photo of the artist and his wife, Sheryl
"How do I know my youth is all spent? My get up and go has got up and went. But, in spite of it all, I'm able to grin and think of the places my get up has been."
— Pete Seeger - Folksinger
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