Inquiring Minds Want to Know?

Well, you'll notice there's a gap of about a year since my last post. Hmmm where, oh where has Kay West been?

Mid-March of 2016 an opportunity inexplicably presented itself, and I leaped on it! I opened LITTLE DOG Art Gallery, a brick and mortar fine art sales gallery in Spokane, WA, along with my silent partner sister, Mel.

Everything moved very swiftly and before I knew it I was scheduling upcoming art exhibits, hanging shows, arranging for in-gallery activities and artist receptions, lots of bookkeeping and paying out of commissions, meeting people, talking with gallery visitors, up to my eyebrows in art biz, et cetera.

It has been an awesome, invigorating, growth experience! I've met so many cool people and talented artists here in Spokane! Initially I was only showing other artists' work, but in the last couple of months I've started exhibiting some of my own paintings. You can check out Little Dog Art Gallery on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, plus our website at www.littledogartgallery.com.

Yes, I've continued painting and taking photographs. I had a dozen of my Bondo Series photographs in a summer exhibit at Liberty Building Art Gallery in Spokane. I was invited to exhibit work in a December group show at Marmot Art Space in Kendall Yards, Spokane.

"Red Lamp" in Liberty Bldg Art Gallery, Summer 2016

"Golden Nut" in Liberty Bldg Art Gallery, Summer 2016

"Frontal, Bondo Series" Marmot Art Space, December 2016

"Golden Curve, Bondo Series" Marmot Art Space, December 2016

Yup, Here I am posing in front of my displayed work at
 Marmot Art Space, Kendall Yards, Spokane, WA

I've pushed forward with my painting, so my work is becoming more loose, playing more with movement and pattern rather than realistic rendering a specific object.

It's been a fun year, with more growth and exploration to come!

Cinder blocks a building make ...

Finished a neckpiece, finally, and went out for a little ride and change of scenery this afternoon. Ran some errands, checked my post office box, washed Hi Ho Silverado. Enjoyed my little roll through the Garland district. Don't know why those few city blocks beckon to me. But it was fun driving through today.

It will be closed off tomorrow for their annual parade and fun nonsense. I think I'll check it out.

One of the old brick buildings there has a rather fresh painting along the wall in the alley. I asked one of the folks about it and was told someone didn't quite make the turn and crashed into the building. I'll have to find out more details, but the building owner, if I understood correctly, decided to have a local artist adorn his reconstructed wall with a painting. I liked how the utility pole lines added a diagonal to the composition, and the cinder blocks also added more geometry.

Because I took a photo of this Garland building, I'm also uploading three other buildings I came across over on Market, which were vacant and falling into disrepair. Again, the repetitive pattern, the strong color fields, and their abandonment appealed to me.

I'm having a devil of a time with faltering camera and unreliable computer. I need to find another computer to see how these images appear on stable equipment. Bear with me as I wing it here, folks!

In any case, today's photographs are all four iPhotos:

August 12, 2011

Did Someone Say "Quirky?"

I was busy making jewelry today and I lost track of time. I hadn't been out at all and was getting a little claustrophobic. I had to mail off a birthday card to my brother Eric, so Suki and I climbed up into my truck and off we roared.

I've passed by a thrift shop in the Garland District a number of times since moving here. The shop is Drop Your Drawers, at 716 W. Garland, Spokane, WA. Every time I've driven by vintage music is blaring and these oddly posed quasi-mannequins adorn the store front; it seems to epitomize the ambience of the neighborhood.

I loved pushing my way through selections of vintage clothing, shoes, jewelry, bones, musical instruments, masks, keyboards, bicycles, vinyl records ... you name it! They only trade or take cash. Their FB fan page states that David, the owner, can even make you a spoon ring.

I couldn't do just one photograph, so here are a few for today. There was something quirky about each of them that totally delighted the child in me! These are all unedited iPhone camera images.

July 31, 2011


Everything Goes w/Doc Martens(iPhoto)




Slim's Jeans (iPhoto)




A Face to Launch a Thousand Ships (iPhoto)




Ticklin' the Ivories and the Femur (iPhoto)




Cash Only Register (iPhoto)




More Cowboy Boots?  Ya Gotta be Kidding! (iPhoto)