An artist’s palette is the range of colors characteristics particular to the artist, painting or school of art. It’s a very visual term that for the Orcas Palettes seems to symbolize a shared love of art, a desire to improve their technique, an environment for learning, a time to share and gain insight from other artists, and for many, the canvas on which friendships have been etched.

“Being a member of the group kept me painting,” said Glenna Richards, one of the first members of the Palettes. “They stimulated me and gave me the confidence to exhibit my work for the first time.”

Richards, who paints scenes of Orcas Island in colors and pastels, says she has learned over the years from fellow Palettes member Caroline Buchanan.

“We have speakers that come to give us advice and share their studies with us,” Richards said. “We are all constantly trying to improve ourselves. Caroline Buchanan has always been around to give us professional advice. She teaches group art seminars all over the Northwest and takes groups to Europe for art lessons. We are fortunate to have her as a member of the Palettes.”

Richards, who keeps the club history, says the group started with friends and that continues to be an important component of the club.

“We are all very good friends. I have definitely made most of my friends through the group,” Richards said.

For more than 17 years this group of Orcas artists, who now number approximately 50 in total membership, have been meeting monthly in each other’s homes to share their work and to learn from demonstrations and presentations. They share information on opportunities for exhibiting their work and take field trips together to sites that they might all enjoy painting. The group has been active in supporting the arts and local artists on Orcas.

“We meet at people’s homes and get to see them with their art and hear about their background,” said Orcas Palettes member Sue Lamb.

The group is open to new members. Lamb says they can be people interested in painting or the visual arts, from those with simply an interest, to beginners and more established artists. She says that members do not have to be actively painting to join the meetings.

The group, originally formed in 1991, was made up of several women from the Orcas Tennis Club who were painting on a regular basis: Josie Barrow, Pat Burman, Jackie Humberger, Jane Kempe, Mardi Lister, Peg Murray, and Ann Stanhope. The following year the club moved to the Deer Harbor Community Center and Richards joined with additional members: Helen Baumgaertel, Caroline Buchanan, Lucy Chamberlain, Gayle Corbin, Dick Haffey, Barbara Hagen, Ann Hanson, Ann Jones, Anne Pedersen, Ed Peterson, Jan Reid, Mary Ann Stone, Mary Tinsman, Elizabeth Waterman, Sue Watkin, and Anna Williams. Some of the members of the original two groups continue to be members of the club today.

According to Richards, the Palettes had their first exhibit in Dr. Shinstrom’s office the year after they formed and then felt proficient enough to have a show at Orcas Center. For the next show, they decided on a theme and everyone painted the Orcas Hotel. They say they continue to be best known for their “on and off the wall shows at the Orcas Center.”

The group is planning an exhibit at the senior center for this August where each member will contribute one or two pieces. Another project that the club worked on was obtaining art prints from the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.

The Palettes worked with the library to apply for “Picturing America,” a free resource that provides a look at American history and it’s people, places and events through great American art. The Orcas Library will soon receive “40 laminated large, high-quality reproductions of significant American art and a comprehensive teachers resource book with lesson ideas to facilitate the use of the images in all K-12 grade levels and subject areas.”

The collection includes such diverse artists as: John Singleton Copley’s “Paul Revere” from 1768, James Karales’ photographic print “Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965” and “Freedom of Speech” by Norman Rockwell for the 1943 Saturday Evening Post.

“Our members plan to have a party for the community once the prints arrive to celebrate and introduce the collection to everyone,” Lamb said.

The club membership dues, which are $10 a year, have been used for such projects as sponsoring a juried show at the Orcas Center, supporting the art program in the schools and in 2008, they donated $150 to the food bank. They are involved every year with the art auction at the Library Fair and many of their members donate work.

At the upcoming meeting they will review the art books loaned to the library cart, to see what other books from members’ private libraries can be loaned for community members to use as a resource.

“We want to be involved in supporting our community and in anything on the island that needs the support of artists,” Lamb said.

The educational component of their meetings includes reports about art exhibits that members have attended and presentations.

“We take turns with different members signing up to host the club, provide refreshments and to arrange the meeting program,” Lamb said. “No one wants to be president so we have a secretary and treasurer and then all volunteer for the other things.”

Last year, one of the presentations was on western art and included a film about Remington and viewing different art reproductions. The group also took a field trip to the Tulip Festival to paint.

“I think the most important thing I have received from the Palettes is a social connection to other artists,” Lamb said. “I think that all artists need other artists to help critique their own work. Sometimes when you are painting you get stuck. The painting does not work exactly. You need someone else you can ask ‘where do I go from here?’ or ‘where did I make the mistake?’ Other artists are able to look at your work objectively and help.”

An artist’s palette is the range of colors characteristics particular to the artist, painting or school of art. It’s a very visual term that for the Orcas Palettes seems to symbolize a shared love of art, a desire to improve their technique, an environment for learning, a time to share and gain insight from other artists, and for many, the canvas on which friendships have been etched.

“Being a member of the group kept me painting,” said Glenna Richards, one of the first members of the Palettes. “They stimulated me and gave me the confidence to exhibit my work for the first time.”

Richards, who paints scenes of Orcas Island in colors and pastels, says she has learned over the years from fellow Palettes member Caroline Buchanan.

“We have speakers that come to give us advice and share their studies with us,” Richards said. “We are all constantly trying to improve ourselves. Caroline Buchanan has always been around to give us professional advice. She teaches group art seminars all over the Northwest and takes groups to Europe for art lessons. We are fortunate to have her as a member of the Palettes.”

Richards, who keeps the club history, says the group started with friends and that continues to be an important component of the club.

For more than 17 years this group of Orcas artists, who now number approximately 50 in total membership, have been meeting monthly in each other’s homes to share their work and to learn from demonstrations and presentations. They share information on opportunities for exhibiting their work and take field trips together to sites that they might all enjoy painting. The group has been active in supporting the arts and local artists on Orcas.

“We meet at people’s homes and get to see them with their art and hear about their background,” said Orcas Palettes member Sue Lamb.

The group is open to new members. Lamb says they can be people interested in painting or the visual arts, from those with simply an interest, to beginners and more established artists. She says that members do not have to be actively painting to join the meetings.

The group, originally formed in 1991, was made up of several women from the Orcas Tennis Club who were painting on a regular basis: Josie Barrow, Pat Burman, Jackie Humberger, Jane Kempe, Mardi Lister, Peg Murray, and Ann Stanhope. The following year the club moved to the Deer Harbor Community Center and additional members joined. Some of those from the original two groups continue to be members of the club today.

According to Richards, the Palettes had their first exhibit in Dr. Shinstrom’s office the year after they formed and then felt proficient enough to have a show at Orcas Center. For the next show, they decided on a theme and everyone painted the Orcas Hotel. They say they continue to be best known for their “on and off the wall shows at the Orcas Center.”

The group is planning an exhibit at the senior center for this August where each member will contribute one or two pieces. Another project that the club worked on was obtaining art prints from the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.

The Palettes worked with the library to apply for “Picturing America,” a free resource that provides a look at American history and it’s people, places and events through great American art. The Orcas Library will soon receive “40 laminated large, high-quality reproductions of significant American art and a comprehensive teachers resource book with lesson ideas to facilitate the use of the images in all K-12 grade levels and subject areas.”

“Our members plan to have a party for the community once the prints arrive to celebrate and introduce the collection to everyone,” Lamb said.

The club membership dues, which are $10 a year, have been used for such projects as sponsoring a juried show at the Orcas Center, supporting the art program in the schools and in 2008, they donated $150 to the food bank. They are involved every year with the art auction at the Library Fair and many of their members donate work.

At the upcoming meeting they will review the art books loaned to the library cart, to see what other books from members’ private libraries can be loaned for community members to use as a resource.

“We want to be involved in supporting our community and in anything on the island that needs the support of artists,” Lamb said.

The educational component of their meetings includes reports about art exhibits that members have attended and presentations.

“We take turns with different members signing up to host the club, provide refreshments and to arrange the meeting program,” Lamb said. “No one wants to be president so we have a secretary and treasurer and then all volunteer for the other things.”

“I think the most important thing I have received from the Palettes is a social connection to other artists,” Lamb said. “I think that all artists need other artists to help critique their own work. Sometimes when you are painting you get stuck. The painting does not work exactly. You need someone else you can ask ‘where do I go from here?’ or ‘where did I make the mistake?’ Other artists are able to look at your work objectively and help.”