John Bertholl and Doc Pangborn, featured artists in the Blue Whole Gallery’s “Catching the Drift of Nature” exhibit, will present their unique forms of nature-themed art in the front windows at 129 W. Washington St.

Meet the artists from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 4, during the First Friday Art Walk event.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Saturday, and Sundays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

For more information, visit bluewholegallery.com.

About the artists

Bertholl lived most of his life in Juneau, Alaska, and caught the creative bug later in life after retirement when taking a driftwood art class. He walks along beaches now noticing shapes and curves hidden in the wood he hadn’t seen before, seeing faces, foxes, fish and more.

He began to experiment with finishes and fell in love with resin, sealing the wood so it could be in or out, and then discovered dyes.

Photo courtesy of Blue Whole Gallery / “Two Ravens” by John Bertholl, a featured artist at the Blue Whole Gallery in August.

“Color changed everything,” Bertholl says.

He says the pieces appear to be moving, which is why he started his company, Driftwood in Motion. He mounts his pieces in many creative ways on rocks, glass, wood and even a mirror. Friends bring him unusual pieces of wood and he is available for commissioned pieces.

Pangborn has been a creator for decades, building custom furniture and cabinetry in the Atlanta area. After visiting family on the Olympic Peninsula, he and his wife found it to be “an amazing place.”

Said Pangborn, “I was overwhelmed by the variety of subjects for new paintings.

”What struck me most was the vastness of the views, such a wonderful place for an artist to live.”

Recently he has been painting more florals and mountain scenes exploring the use of palette knives and the spontaneity of texture he gets with them.