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Arts & Entertainment

Sharing the Passion for Painting

After years in the field of social work, local gallery owner Denise Cole rediscovered her love for art, and decided to share it with the community.

Like many young college students, Denise Cole (owner of ) followed her creative zeal, and took art classes while working towards a degree in social work. She excelled in her classes, especially those that focused on painting. However, also like many young college students, once she graduated and entered the professional workforce, her creative outlet fell to the wayside.

“I was an adoption social worker for 12 years, and I just didn’t do anything artistic at all,” Cole recalled. “I was so afraid when I got back into it that I would suck. I was absolutely petrified, and then I started taking watercolor classes at a community workshop and it changed my life. Since then I’ve been painting for 18 years.”

Painting isn't the only challenge Cole took on. After years of art classes, Cole began teaching herself, and in 2006 she opened on 5th Ave. S in downtown Edmonds. Aside from running a successful, high-end gallery, Cole also decided to offer art classes in the basement of the building.

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“I just really felt like we have a lot of instruction other places, but not a lot in the North end," Cole said. "I really wanted to bring in some high level instructors and offer people affordable classes.”

Cole said that there is only so much that artists can learn in a university setting, and that most successful painters polish their skills by training with other great painters. She wanted to provide a place where creative minds could gather, get inspired and work on their craft—some of them for the first time in many years. Cole knows the feeling. 

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“I just remember that longing in my heart to get back to painting,” she said, the enthusiasm ringing clear in every word. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I hadn’t have had such a supportive community around me and in my classes.” She seeks to provide the same kind of environment in the classes at Cole Gallery. 

Housed beneath the showroom, the classes are for teenagers and adults. Students include those who have never picked up a paintbrush and those who have been painting all their lives. Classes include drawing, beginning painting, sketching, watercolors and pastels. There are often up to five workshops offered each month.

Upstairs, there is a space where professional supplies are sold. It is one of the few retail spaces for such high-caliber pigment, paint and brushes in the area. 

“We don’t have the fanciest studio by any means,” Cole explained with a laugh, “but people certainly enjoy the classes and it is a very creative space.”

Teachers range from artists on display in the gallery to national names such as Michael Maczuga, who will teach a 3-day, advanced workshop in August. 

According to Cole, many people have the same story as her—lapsed artists who are yearning to get back into their work. She loves to encourage them to do so, and has found some hidden gems of talent in the local community, such as painter Theresa Vatter.

For those who haven’t picked up a brush since elementary school, there are plenty of workshops for beginners as well. Cole recommends “Watercolor Sketching on Location in Edmonds” taught by Faye Castle, a class that takes students around the city of Edmonds to work on their sketching skills in miniature.

Cole has reignited the flame of creativity in her life, and she doesn’t see an end in sight.

“I really believe that we can sell art and support artists by connecting people to the art and the artists,” Cole said. “There are so many people out there that have talent and they don’t even know it. I really want our place to be a place of inspiration and encouragement—that’s something I can’t ever stop doing!”

For a complete list of classes, visit the Cole Gallery website

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