RICHLAND, Wash. – The Gallery at the Park, one of the few remaining original buildings in the Tri-Cities, stands as a monument to local artists.
Bob Allen, who works with the Allied Arts Association, shared the building’s rich history. “It’s been a private home, a boarding house, the village library, the village newspaper. It was the ration board in World War two and an irrigation company office,” he said.
Allen, who has lived in the Tri-Cities since the 1980s, joined the association after retiring from a communications career at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He took on the role after his wife suggested it. “My wife told me to find something to do, and we knew the president of the Allied Arts Association who was looking for a publicity person. And my wife said, oh, I know he has written press releases,” Allen said.
The gallery features hundreds of artists from the area. One artist, Chris Walling, focuses on the beauty of local landmarks using watercolor. Walling, a former elementary school teacher at Hanford and Badger Mountain, discovered her passion for painting during a vacation. “When we were at a resort and they had a you can paint this oil painting and I thought, sure, I’ll try that. I tried it and it was good. And I went the next day and that was good too. And by the time we got home, I was like, well, forget oils. I’m going to do watercolor,” she said.
Walling’s work captures iconic Tri-Cities locations, providing a new perspective on familiar sights. “The grain elevator, certainly kind of an icon in Kennewick, the SpudNut Shop well, that’s kind of a classic, the Gallery at the Park, that would be this place. That one is new. The cable bridge, I’ll tell you an art story. This I paint almost exclusively in transparent watercolor. And so what that means is this there’s not the white you see on that is the white of the paper. Don’t use white paint. I had to I did it to see if I could get around all those cables and, and paint that, and if I could make a successful piece of it. And obviously I did. That felt pretty good actually,” Walling said.
The gallery not only showcases art but also fosters collaboration. Walling appreciates the input from others in the artistic community. “Part of what makes your art lives is working with other people and you get input from people. Frankly, I cannot always tell if a piece looks good, if it’s awkward or unbalanced or whatever. And so I will say, I’m borrowing your eyes. Look at this. What do you see? Where does your eye go for this? You know, how do you handle that kind of thing. And and it’s just really helpful and it’s very collaborative and I appreciate that. I think it’s a really good way to be,” she said.
The Gallery at the Park continues to be a testament to the local art scene and the stories behind the paintings.
