Gathering of art experts to discuss artist Michael Dailey’s skill, work and career

The discussion will focus on the paintings and practices of one of the Northwest’s most beloved and celebrated artists. The panel includes three authorities on Dailey’s works-Greg Kucera, Susanne Kelly and Robin Updike.

— Submitted by the San Juan Islands Museum of Art

Enriching the experience of “Michael Dailey: Early Dawn to Late Twilight” at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art, IMA brings a lively conversation about one of the great mystical painters of the Pacific Northwest.

The panel discussion, “Michael Dailey: Landscape-Inspired Abstractions” will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the San Juan Community Theatre.

Led by executive director, Ian Boyden, the discussion will focus on the paintings and practices of one of the Northwest’s most beloved and celebrated artists. The panel includes three authorities on Dailey’s works-Greg Kucera, Susanne Kelly and Robin Updike.

Kucera’s gallery has exhibited Dailey’s art for years and considers Dailey to be one of the best painters ever in the Pacific Northwest. Suzanne Kelly, Dailey’s daughter, worked side-by-side with her father, learning his methods and is herself an accomplished painter. A former art critic for The Seattle Times, Robin Updike wrote the book, Michael Dailey Color, Light, Time, and Place Selected works, 1965-2007.

Of his own luminous and color-saturated work, Dailey said, “I want a painting that coaxes the viewer into it. So much painting out there seems to hit people over the head. I’d much rather make a painting that people want to look at again and again.”

Mr. Dailey’s paintings, often characterized as landscape-inspired abstractions, celebrate his taste for outrageously beautiful color, light and form. His work hangs in dozens of collections, both private and public, and he taught generations of students, serving on the faculty of the University of Washington’s School of Art from 1963 to 1998.

The Art As A Voice events are offered by IMA to enhance the educational experience of the arts in the county and are open to residents, artists, students and visitors. This panel discussion presented by IMA is sponsored by the Lester M. and Bernice Smith Foundation.

General admission is $16, IMA members pay $13 and student tickets are $8. Tickets are available at IMA at 360 370-5050 and the San Juan Community Theatre at 100 Second Street in Friday Harbor, 360 378-3210.

The Dailey show as well as Joe Miller’s exhibition, “Unlike Earth” are open from Friday through Monday, 11-5 until Nov. 9, 2015. The “Immersion Series” by Kathy Venter is open to the public until Dec. 14.