Port Angeles Fine Art Center

 

A Metallic Albatross floating over the trail up to the art center

Went exploring with a couple of friends of mine. Patty heard there was a bird art display at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center. I've known the center existed but it was just off my radar. 

So artsy, if you ride your bike in,
you can chain it to a giant crab

I honestly didn't get enough photos. There was art in metal, wood and whatnot, that you pass as you walk up the gentle incline to the main building. 

water flowing over giant metal leaves
just outside the Center entrance

Large paintings of birds - all that can be found in Washington, at least once in a bit - lined the main exhibit area.

The paintings were so detailed you could see the little feathers around the eyes of some birds. Being a nutcase birder, I strolled through, identifying bird after feathery bird, wishing I had that kind of exacting painting talent.

The paintings held enough beauty that one needn't be a birder to enjoy them. 

There were other works by local artists, and a favorite of mine (no shite!) were of this pair of Yellow-billed Magpies. I miss those magpies so much! Haven't - of course - seen any since leaving California, which is the only place on earth they are found. 

Yellow-billed Beauties

Bickering American Kestrels 

When we had sucked in all the beauty we could, we briefly visited the small gift shop. There were watercolor sets by the company I recently bought my field supplies from. Had to scold and threaten myself least I buy more watercolors because I already have enough now to paint for the rest of my life. 

Polyphemus Moth

We left the hall and just outside was a future Nature Journal page waiting to happen. The poor thing didn't move one iota. The photo below exists because I used a bit of leaf stem to gently spread its wings. I last saw a Polyphemus Moth a jillion years ago on the boardwalk at the Crescent City Motel in California. This one is a bit different so I guess there are different species of Polyphemus. 

Mother Nature went into overtime to complete this beauty

Below is a short vid of some of the garden art, that to me seem a bit AUP/UFO whimsey.