After a 14-week closure, Blue Whole Gallery once again opened its doors to art aficionados and artists.

Now the downtown Sequim venue is ready for its first exhibit since it reopened on June 17.

Artists of the month of July are Carol Janda and Mary Franchini, veteran artists known for their work and teaching of art in a showcase titled, aptly, “New Beginnings.”

The opening is scheduled for 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, July 3, at 129 W. Washington St.

Adhering to guidelines from Gov. Jay Inslee and Clallam County health officials, a mask, use of hand sanitizers and social distancing are required in the gallery.

For more information, visit the gallery’s website at www.bluewholegallery.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Blue WholeGallery.

Janda works in several media, watercolors, oils and clay. A self-taught artists from books and practice while living at Glacier Bay, she said “it was wonderful to take classes and workshops, meet other artists and enter shows when we moved to the ‘Lower 48.’”

Janda has taught watercolor at Peninsula College and independently for several years.

“Art has enriched my life in many ways as I try to express my appreciation for our world,” she said. “It has filled days of solitude and provided the opportunity for friendships, self-expression and challenged my modest abilities.”

Franchini said she has for several years now been fascinated with the concept of luminous and illuminated.

“There is no way to make the light in painting as strong as it is from the sun or strong light,” she said. “I keep trying to give that illusion in my paintings. The pieces in my window are some of those trials. I hope that you will enjoy and be ‘illuminated’ by them.”