Featured Artists
Our Bistro and Studio Walls feature a rotating selection of local fine artists to enjoy while dining, and many are also for sale. These are our current featured artists - learn more about these talented folks and stop by to check them out! If you are interested in having us host your artwork, please contact joni@thevaultwine.com for more info.
Isabel Finston
Meet Isabel Finston, one of The Vault's featured artists! Isabel uses her senses to create beautiful, unique, and fashion-editorial-esque pieces. As a person with ADHD and ASD, her sensory processing disorder has a massive influence on her work. Her collages are often accompanied by olfactive artworks, and her art is known for its literalism and the dichotomy of surrealism and the mundane . Isabel is pursuing a degree in political science with a minor in marketing and works in New York City, personalizing and marketing fragrances. Her creations have been recognized by pillars of the fragrance and music industries, such as Nest New York, The 7 Virtues, The Ouai, Histoires de Parfums, Maison d'ETTO, Perfume Room Podcast, Floral Street, Kelly and Jones, and Flyte. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new artistic mediums with her friends and boyfriend.
Kevin Bowers - Photography
Kevin Bowers resides in Blaine, WA
Paul Foertsch
Paul Foertsch is an artist based in Fairhaven, WA who primarily works with oil paint but enjoys working with wood and leather as well. As a painter, he is deeply inspired by the natural world and the intricate details found within it. His works exude a breathtaking sense of realism and mastery, showcasing his skill as a craftsman. As a business owner, Paul has successfully merged his passion for painting with his 25 year career as a tattooist in Bellingham. His unique perspective and artistic vision have allowed him to create a signature style that is sought after by many. As a father, Paul's love for his family is reflected in his pieces, adding an emotional depth to his work. His studio is a haven of curiosity and self expression, each piece offering a glimpse into his creative mind and soul. He and his wife own a private tattoo studio and a gallery in the historic Sycamore Square building in Fairhaven.
Mary Eilene Hamilton
Wife, Mother, Artist and Poet; graduate of Maryhurst College; majored in Commercial Art; minored in the Fine Arts, worked in the Art Department of Baker Barkon Co; taught art as a substitute at Holy Child Academy and at the Art Village in Portland, Oregon; has had numerous art exhibitions; rendered calligraphy for the March of Dimes and certificates for numerous schools; now painst and writes at leisure… which she refers to as Whispers of Love.
Donna James Photography
What is a woven fine art print? It starts with a beautiful black-and white image printed onto heavy-weight 100% cotton fine art paper. Two identical prints are needed to create a weave.
The strips are then sliced into thin strips and hand-woven back together to create a very textural one-of-a-kind piece. All of the woven images are my originals and local to the PNW.
Black-and-white images leave elements for interpretation. Adding a woven element brings a new depth to an image. I love the texture and unexpected visual pattern that weaving brings to a 2D image. It creates a whole new image within an image. More to see, feel, and process. I love beautiful light and anything vintage! I also love contrast and patterns that quiet my mind. I hope you find something interesting to see or sense a connection that brings you joy.
www.DonnaJamesPhotography.com
Instagram: FineWovenArtPrints
Kevin Hoover
Infused with layers of texture, color, pattern and motion, these original abstract artworks take cues from the art in nature; architecture; influences of Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, Northwest contemporary art and pure intuitive feeling, to name a few; imagery is secondary. Where it exists in my work it’s either a happy accident or in the eye of the beholder...anyone viewing this art should feel free to experience and interpret it in their own way. At least, that’s my hope.
Ruth Lauman
Ruth Lauman is a multifaceted artist with an impressive background in marketing and advertising. Numerous awards and recognitions marked her illustrious career in the corporate and publishing world. You may have seen her photography in The Northern Light and on the social media platforms for Blaine by the Sea. However, her innate passion for visual arts drew her back to the canvas.
Ruth Lauman now focuses exclusively on her love for art and photography. A graduate of the Hussian School of Art in Philadelphia, where she studied advertising design and marketing, emphasizing fine art, Ruth brings a wealth of knowledge to her visual arts re-ventures. Ruth's favorite medium is pastels, watercolor, and digitally created art inspired by her own photography of the breathtaking Blaine-Birch-Bay area's Pacific Northwest's enchanting seascapes that serve as her muse, infusing her works with a sense of tranquility, movement, and wonder.
Ruth Lauman's journey from marketing maven to visual artist is not just a career transition but a testament to the power of following one's passion. For more of Ruth's art and photography, visit www.ruthlauman.com
Shawna Morris
I am inspired by the subtleties of color, texture, patterns, and energies that I perceive in the world around me. I work with dozens of layers, reflecting back to me the layered complexity of the human experience. Throughout life, we accumulate layers of memory, sadness, joy, wisdom… I bring that awareness to the canvas and offer suggestions of perception and thought to the viewer. My approach on the canvas is fearless and brave, sometimes whimsical, always deep.
I call myself an intuitive painter. It's not because I have a vision or a knowing of what I'm going to paint. I rarely have an idea of what I will create. The intuitive piece is my interaction with the canvas, the colors, the marks, my movements, and my visceral response to what is happening. There is a feedback loop between what is emerging on the canvas and how I experience it as physical sensations in my body. I respond to those sensations, which guide me in my next movement and color choice on the canvas. When I listen and follow the somatic guide, the sensation will subside or change – there is a release of sorts. This dance occurs for the entire duration of bringing a painting to fruition.