Dalton Webb, a graphic designer and illustrator, is a good friend. He invited me to take part in an art show he was putting together at one of Seattle’s leading salons, Tart, in the Ballard neighborhood. It was an honor to join him. Tart is quite a lovely place. It has an inviting charm about it, very elegant and easygoing.
Passionate artists are constantly creating work. I know Dalton and I enjoy art on many levels, from drawing and painting to art history. I focus on drawing and writing. His focus is illustration and graphic design. Other interests will come into play too. This show is a display of the joy of creating artwork, particularly revealing something about our inner selves. There are signs of the allure of mystery, nostalgia, childhood, a need to connect back with the past and make sense of the present.
Through it all, the search for self and subject matter, one prime source that has sustained us both is the comics medium. We’re both cartoonists. It brings out the inner child. It brings out professional work ethics. While we pursue many different things in our lives, I believe, it is that grounding in comics, all the comics read and all the hours of setting ink brush to paper, that inform much of what we do. The world of comics is both a creature of a bygone era as well as one of the hottest art mediums imaginable, still growing, still challenging, artists and enthusiasts alike.
Well, with that said, if you’re in Seattle, make sure to visit Tart. Come enjoy their beauty services and come enjoy the art! Tart is located at 2221 NW 56th Street in Ballard. The phone is 206 706 5220. The show is up now and will run through April. The painting of the cat catching a big fish is by Dalton Webb and he has prints of that for sale. The painting of a winter scene is from my graphic novel, “Alice in New York,” which is in search of a publisher.
