Jimmy Ulvenes is a longtime Olympia resident and artist. He taught art education in the public school system for more than two decades before having a kidney-pancreas transplant that left him unable to remain healthy while teaching. Now, he is a full time professional artist. Ulvenes has shown art throughout the Pacific Northwest and is known for his moody sea and land scapes capturing the area he lives in, and loves so much. In addition to these works, Ulvenes also has been known to paint floral still lifes. While not interested in realism, the artist's paintings are easily recognizable by viewers local to the Salish Sea and surrounding area. Ulvenes spends weekdays in his studio in downtown Olympia, where he is thoroughly engaged with the surrounding artistic community


This is the second time I have applied to the Southwest Washington Regional Juried Art Exhibition. Last year’s opening was such a wonderful time, with a great number of supportive and collaborative artists from the surrounding area. In this submission, I have included three pieces.

The first two are landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, both painted using acrylic on canvas. In these works, I draw back on a poem by Mary Oliver called, “I Go Down to the Shore.” In it, Oliver describes her woes and strife to nature, only to be quickly excused as nature is busy doing “the work.” I am constantly inspired by and given perspective from nature. These pieces, though not realism, are easily recognizable and evoke viewers' memories of quintessential Pacific Northwest woods. Up close, these pieces are a mess. When taken in from aback, everything clicks- and the viewer is right there, in the woods. The third piece, a floral, is part of my series, Everlasting Love. This piece is after the party, after the aging, and after the loss of hair. Reminding us that beauty changes, but remains. This painting too was done with acrylic on canvas