Port Townsend visual artist Julie McHugh will present an open studio on Saturday, February 9, from 4-6 pm in the upstairs of Building 205. She will show photographs and photo intaglio prints. 

McHugh uses a “simple” film camera, and develops and prints her own work. After taking a photo itaglio workshop taught by Marsha Slomowitz and Jay Haskins of Corvidae Press, she discovered the most satisfying physical form for her work to take: water-based inks on high-quality natural-fiber paper.

“My main artistic interest has been taking black and white portraits, landscapes and still lifes with a special interest in capturing nature’s gifts,” McHugh says, “whether it be a tree, a child, or an artful scene created by someone.”

McHugh has shown her work in multiple solo and group shows, won the Merit Award from the Northwind Arts Alliance, and had her images published in many newspapers and  magazines.

"I strive to capture the essence of moments, individuals, landscapes, objects, and scenes which are beautiful or interesting to me," McHugh says. "I try not to disrupt what occurs naturally or to perfect it, simply to document, the only manipulation being subtracting the color and minimizing the depth of field.  Sometimes, I add color back with pencils. It is interesting to see how things appear in linear time, in print–what shows through and transfers, visible or not, and what is missed or what happy accidents occur. It provides an avenue through which to study myself and the magical, mysterious gift of life and our world."