Auburn resident Elizabeth Kay, an award-winning sumi artist, joins ESCAPADE, the newest exhibition at the Women Painters of Washington Gallery in downtown Seattle.

Kay will exhibit her work along with 24 other women member painters from 12 cities in the state.

The exhibit runs May 3 to July 29 at the gallery, 701 Fifth Ave., Columbia Center Building, Suite 310.

Kay’s art reflects her spirited love of nature’s beauty. She has exhibited her award-winning sumi paintings throughout the world.

In 1994, her sumi painting, “Poppies” was selected as “Best of Show” at the prestigious Sumi E Society of America’s national exhibition. The paintings were juried by Tesshin Sasaki, a noted international sumi artist and sensei.

Upon meeting Kay, Sasaki said, “I thought you were Japanese.”

Kay responded, “I am, in my heart.”

Kay says that, “while our backgrounds and cultures were different, the language of art transcended these differences.”

Artists and collectors who have observed Elizabeth at work state that she “kindles the spirit as she paints and weaves magic with the brush as it dances across the page.”

For more than 80 years, Women Painters of Washington has attracted and promoted nationally and internationally recognized artists and has been a cornerstone in the Northwest arts scene whose name is literally sealed on a cornerstone of the Seattle Art Museum.

To learn more about Women Painters of Washington and the artists featured in this show, please visit www.womenpainters.com.

Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday. It is free and open to the public.