Just for fun: Dahmen Barn opens new exhibit

Pastel paintings of the Palouse and beyond will fill the Artisans at the Dahmen Barn for the “Simply Painting for Fun” exhibit.

The opening reception for the work of three local artists, Franceen Hermanson, Sharley Schenk, and Linda Shewey, will take place Sunday from 1-3 p.m. The exhibit will be up tomorrow through Nov. 30 at the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown.

The displayed work is mostly done in chalk pastels but also includes watercolor paintings, as well as a few mixed-media pieces. Julie Hartwig, exhibit coordinator at the Artisan at the Dahmen Barn, said using chalk pastel involves a lot of blending and layering techniques similar to oil painting.

“You just don’t use a brush,” Hartwig said.

The artwork in the exhibit varies greatly in subject matter, featuring landscapes, birds and floras from the Palouse and beyond, Hartwig said. She said the exhibit is sure to be popular.

“These gals have a pretty good following of collectors and friends,” Hartwig said.

Schenk, an artist from Clarkson, said all three of the featured artists had been involved in some kind of art since childhood, but it wasn’t until their own kids had grown up that they had time to really pursue it. She said she met the other artists for the exhibit in Judy Fairley’s pastel painting class at Walla Walla Community College, and now it isn’t unusual for the three of them to go out on tours together.

“We just go around and look for something that looks good and take pictures of it,” Schenk said.

She said for anyone who is struggling to fit art back into their lives, she recommends carrying a sketchpad everywhere and when draw anything interesting.

All three artists have very different painting styles, she said. Hermanson’s paintings are more relaxed whereas Shewey’s paintings rival the original photographs in detail, Schenk said.

“I’m in the middle. I’m a little of both,” Schenk said. “I take in some of the detail but not all of it.”

Hartwig also said Shewey painted with great detail. Hartwig said a professor once told Shewey that she couldn’t paint, but Shewey continued working hard regardless and is now one of the Dahmen Barn resident artists. Every tiny water droplet can be seen in Shewey’s paintings, she said.

“She is an amazing artist,” Hartwig said.

Hermanson said her style has become looser since she broke her right arm two years ago and had to teach herself how to paint left handed.

“It’s very surprising that I could change, being right handed, to painting left handed,” she said.

Schenk said the class likes to tease Hermanson that she’s a better painter now than before she broke her arm.

Hermanson said deciding the name for the exhibit was easy; the three friends readily agreed upon “Simply Painting for Fun.”

“Because that’s what it should be,” Hermanson said. “It should be fun.”

The exhibit is free to visit.