Join us at First Thursday, June 2 to meet the featured artists: Stan Riedesel, Dan Tchozewski. and Broadway Gallery Art Students.
Mingle with fellow art lovers in historic downtown Longview. Live music provided by local musicians. Featured artists artwork is on display all month.
During the June 2 First Thursday from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm, enjoy the music of Dennis Harris.
About The Artists
Stan Riedesel
When an artist’s brush lays pigment on paper, a story begins – a window into an imagined moment. Magically, a painting can bring both the viewer and the artist together. As the painting unfolds, the viewer can find a conversation with the shapes and colors in the image.
I use watercolor to paint my experiences. Southwestern Washington is quilted with contrast. Forests and rivers seem to look back in time, and they keep things as they were for hundreds of years. Bustling urban centers accelerate everything into fast forward, and we are dared to grab hold. Our weather often sponges all of this with soft, filtered light, but it also surprises us with intense sun blasts that dance around the strong shadows. My paintings are impressionistic. Darks and lights define the image, but they leave much to the imagination.
I grew up in Chehalis. I remember sitting at the kitchen table drawing locomotives – we still had steam trains in the 50’s. I may have been a bit obsessive because on nice days, my mom would shoo me out of the house and tell me to play outside. Mom also encouraged my brothers and I to draw. Some of the best afternoons with my family and my grandparents were ones where we passed around a paper pad and drew cartoons. The art was probably not all that great, but I can still remember the laughter. Dad frequently built or rebuilt houses, and he drew his own plans. His drafting was exacting, and though my painting does not show it, careful rendering lurks behind the drawings that I do.
My wife, Joe, and I became elementary teachers. As we started our family, I kept going to school and eventually became a principal. My early schooling included a course about art for elementary students, but there was not time for more art training. I did have an on-campus job at Western Washington College – I was a film and slide show operator for the professors. Whenever possible, I signed up for art lectures and enjoyed the discussions of art history as I listened for, “Next slide, please.”
After retirement, Joe encouraged me to take an introductory course on watercolor from
Eric Wiegardt. His instruction was the perfect catalyst for getting my painting started. Since that first meeting, I joined a group of Eric’s students for classes and painting trips to France and Portugal. Now, I work every other Saturday in his gallery. I am a member of the Peninsula Artists Association, and I chair the meetings of the Northwest Artists Guild. My paintings are displayed in Long Beach at the Campiche, at The Picture Attic and at Nahcotta’s best bakery: Bailey’s.
Dan Tchozewski
I grew up in a small town on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan and have always enjoyed activities on the beach and water. Driftwood has a hidden beauty of grains and burls that I love discovering.
Thirty years of working construction from Key West, Florida to Dutch Harbor, Alaska has always led to some wonderful opportunities. I am proud to share these passions in Cathlamet, Washington at the Tsuga Co-op Gallery and now this month at the Broadway Gallery in Longview, Washington. I hope you enjoy my work.