The Art Spirit Gallery has unveiled “Spring Folly,” a colorful collection of new works by Northwest artists.

The exhibit features Coeur d'Alene oil painters Jeff Weir and Kathy Gale, mixed media artist Shelle Lindholm of Montana and sculptor Kelsey Bowen of Red Lodge, Mont. The show runs through June 9.

Utilizing texture and rich color, Gale’s work leans toward impressionism while flirting with abstraction. The artist’s new body of work uncovers the beauty of the open, quiet vistas in Idaho, eastern Washington and Oregon.

“For years I’ve been in awe of the sunsets, storms and open grassy tilled earth of the Pacific Northwest,” Gale said. “I’m thrilled to transform my photos and memories into paintings for this exhibition.”

Gale holds a bachelor of arts degree from Gonzaga University. For many years she resided in the Seattle area, painting for individual and corporate clients. She has participated in various art events in the Inland Northwest and, with the help of local artist Teresa McHugh, started the Coeur d'Alene Artists Studio Tour.

Contemporary Western oil painter Weir grew up on 34 acres in rural Athol where he fell in love with the outdoors. In his work, Weir pulls from memories, daydreams and imagination to capture animal life in the mountains. He uses oil paint in thin transparent layers alongside thick opaque brushstrokes full of color to make work with a strong presence.

Weir's work has been shown in the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, multiple galleries and group shows across the Inland Northwest. He was awarded best local artist 2019 in the Business Journal of North Idaho.

Art, animals and nature have always played a role in Lindholm’s life. Outside her studio door in rural Montana, a rambunctious array of birds and beasts parade by, their antics providing a constant source of inspiration for her playful work.

Her past work as a pattern maker has influenced her creative style as she fashions and cuts simple paper templates of animals and assembles them to find a fresh and lively presence. With layers of wax and acrylic paint that influence color and create organic texture, she brings her subjects to life.

Lindholm holds a BFA from Stephens College in Columbia, Mo. She is active in the Montana arts community and teaches various workshops in the region.

Bowen is from a small town in California where hot summers were often spent outside with dust and thistles in her socks. Her youth was categorized in animals; both the pets that surrounded her and the molded plastic ones she played with, alone, for hours at a time. These items and creatures translate into her work as characters and stand-ins for the human form and serve as vessels for her self-reflection, explorations and storytelling in clay. She sees her work as the illustration of personal narratives and borrowed tales, like the drawings in a children’s book. While often dark in concept, her pieces sweetly invite close inspection through their pastel and soft appearance only to repel or jar with quietly twisted details.

Bowen received her BFA in ceramics from the California College of the Arts in Oakland and is currently creating work as a long-term artist in residence at the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana. She has participated in various exhibitions with her work, including a publication in Ceramics Monthly, the California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Arts in Davis, the American Museum of Ceramic Arts in Los Angeles and her BFA solo exhibition in the California Bay Area.

Info: www.theartspiritgallery.com/exhibitions