As pieces of Ballard’s history began slipping away, artist Lina Raymond had to paint them. “I painted it because ‘it’ wouldn’t let me be until I did,” she tells us.
Acrylic & pencil on wood. Published with permission.
In her art, Raymond shows the closing or changing of many Ballard establishments including Denny’s, Ballard Camera and Epilogue Books. Edith Macefield, the woman who refused to sell her home to developers, is also honored in Raymonds work with several pieces showing the construction of the Ballard Blocks building going up around her home.
Acrylic & pencil on wood. Published with permission.
“Years ago I lost a beloved business and it was devastating,” she says, “It was going back to painting that finally got me through it. But witnessing as an observer (of changing Ballard), is very different. I had to paint-it-out to get my head around it. And, I think it felt like an affectionate remembrance and farewell. Just had to do it.” Raymond’s artwork is on display and for sale at Portalis Wines (5205 Ballard Ave) through the month of July.