Over a 6 week period, 80 residents of Edmonds sat for 2-minute video sessions with nationally acclaimed Cole Gallery artist Pam Ingalls, who has created 45 paintings of the people of Edmonds for her show “Facing Edmonds” at Cole Gallery.  Describing her inspiration for the show, Pam states:

I love painting portraits and have painted people in small communities around the world.   Edmonds is such a magical place -  full of artists, musicians, travelers & wonderful characters. After showing here at Cole Gallery for a few years, I got excited about painting portraits of people in Edmonds. Denise Cole liked the idea, so we started planning this show.  I like to take video of my subjects, so I can choose a single frame to paint from when I'm alone in my studio. I invited the few people I know in Edmonds - and others that Denise knew - to come to Cole Gallery on a few different Saturdays for me to take a little video of them for me to paint from. Quite a few of the models just happened to see a sign we put on the door and walked in off the street to participate. About 80 people volunteered in all. I was planning to paint just 30 portraits, but I had so much fun painting that I just kept going until I had 45 paintings. (I so wish I could have painted all 80 people!)

I hope these paintings capture something a little deeper in each person – something that's not immediately apparent on the surface when you see them. And if you live in Edmonds, or are just visiting, maybe you'll feel a little closer to this beautiful community after seeing this show. What a gift this little city is.