Pair of ‘Kindred’ spirits show new work at PtSA Gallery

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Port Townsend School of the Arts’ Grover Gallery will present new works from painter and teacher Julie Read alongside more in the new series by iconic artist Max Grover in the month-long October exhibit “Kindred.”

The show opens Thursday, Oct. 1 and runs through the end of the month, and works can also be viewed online (learn more at www.ptschoolofthearts.org).

The title of the show is a reference to the inspiration and guidance that Grover extended to Read when she first arrived in Port Townsend a decade ago, officials said.

While looking for a place to rent, she encountered a big, bright Grover painting of Port Townsend’s waterfront in the lobby of the real estate office.

“I asked the staff about the painting and learned the artist lived in Port Townsend and that he was a painting teacher,” Read said.

“I couldn’t believe my luck. I eagerly checked out Max Grover’s website and determined that he was a genius. I had yet to meet the man, but I had him completely idolized by the time I did.”

A year later, Grover opened a gallery downtown, and began offering classes. Read jumped in, following Max’s advice to every aspiring artist: “If you want to be a painter, you have to paint!”

Painting from her imagination and learning from her own frustrations was just what she needed. Ten years later, her life has been transformed by her art – including sell-out shows, regular exhibitions, and more learning.

Read began teaching at Port Townsend School of the Arts in 2017 and her classes quickly became sell-outs.

Of her current work, Read explained: “My original inspiration to make folk-inspired art and my early training is resonant in my practice now. Max Grover claims that ‘painters paint what they know.’ This has become an important guide as I approach my next piece.

“Often my inspirations are humorous but I’m not trying to be whimsical. I’m inclined to refer to objects and images from my middle-class, suburban upbringing in Eastern Colorado, however my paintings are also a celebration of the absurd, scary, uncomfortable, and meaningless parts of American life as I know it.”

Of her mentor and friend, Read said, “I consider Max Grover to be a genius and one of my favorite artists. I still have a little celebrity shyness when I see him, and I still seek his approval of my work. Learning to paint from one of my favorite artists, to share gallery space with him, to teach others how to paint and pass the brush onto the next eager creative here in Port Townsend is one of the great joys of my life. I feel so lucky.”

Grover opened last month’s exhibition at the PtSA Gallery with a show of all new work.

This month, officials said, he reveals more in that new series, which he embarked on seven months ago.

The pieces are a combination of Grover’s travel photography, photo prints, acrylic paint and collage. Repurposed images, art materials and framing complete this body of work.

“In this time of reexamination of our lives it was a natural progression from my past imagery,” he said. “Turning the old into the new.”