Current Exhibition

Issaquah artist Norman Elder has been painting for nearly 60 years. His current portfolio features large-scale acrylics influenced by his home on Tiger Mountain.

His gallery show, “Sweetheart, There Are Gardens Only We Can Know,” will be displayed at Blakely Hall throughout November and December. You can meet the artist during a gallery reception on Sunday, Nov. 10, from 4–6 p.m.

Elder’s upcoming exhibition showcases impressions of trees, flowers, sunlight and shadows as well as “wind shivering through the forest.” There’s also a touch of poetry throughout, he noted.

“My sweetheart asked me to paint something horticultural for her a few years ago,” he said. “I have been part of her garden since then, as it grows and glows.”

Elder said his favorite paintings are named after his wife, Erica. Since he moved to Issaquah, he has found inspiration for all his artwork in the forested Mirrormont neighborhood.

From grade school to present time, Elder has been honing his artistic skills. As a child, he said that making things, writing stories and creating art set his mind free and made him laugh. His technique evolved through years of practice and understanding his materials and tools, which he calls his “craft.”

“Craft allows me to be free—free with oil, acrylic, etching ink, rocks, wood...Whatcha got? Share a little magic,” he said.

Elder said people ask him all the time, “How do you do it?” While he is always hesitant to answer, he admitted that he begins by having his tools and materials ready.

“My paintings explain where we go and maybe how, but the why will be mine,” he
said. “There is no process that can be defined. I suppose that ‘be free’ is my mantra. Let go. The goal is to discover and reveal, and all the while be an observer of what comes, and occasionally be amazed.”

Learn more about Norman Elder at normanelder.com.