Never Late for Heaven

Janeanne Upp is executive director of the Tacoma Art Museum. Sheryl Conkelton is a curator based in Seattle specializing in contemporary art. She has held positions with the Henry Art Gallery, Seattle; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the California Museum of Photography; and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Barbara Earl Thomas is a painter and writer living in Seattle. Her artwork is held in collections throughout the United States, and her essays have been widely published. Her paintings and writing are featured in the book "Storm Watch: The Art of Barbara Earl Thomas."

"As long as I have known Gwen, her art has been about making vivid 'observations'--portraits of people, depictions of objects and portrayals of feelings, movements, and memories. She is a keen observer, formally trained as a sculptor and painter to use volume and color as a way of expressing a likeness. Her work is sensitive to nuance but does not have a shred of sentimentality in it. She is tough and pragmatic and one of the most charismatic and generous persons you could ever hope to meet."--Michael Spafford