Snohomish County artist Cheri O'Brien will show a selection of paintings in the Gallery Room of the Alexis Hotel during the months of February, March and April.

  This show will feature a selection of work including a variety of landscapes, an image of her home, a dream scene and some animal images.

  Ms. Obrien, from Everett, paints in an expressionist style that packs a psychological wallop. She was Snohomish County Artist of the Year in 1997. She works in oil on panel, guoache on paper and acrylic on canvas. Her mealoncholy humans and animals, with enlarged heads and snake-like Olive Oyl arms, have profound personality despite their cartoony appearance. Ms. O'Brien's landscapes twist and writhe with an expressioninsm reminiscent of Thomas Hart Benton.Her subects have included couples on dates, landscapes, religious icons including various saints and a variety of animals in situations with other animals or with humans.

  In two exhibitions lasts year, Ms. Obrien focused on animal themes: "Woof: The Dog in Art" at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery and "Like Cats and Dogs" at the Pratt Art Gallery in Seattle. Ms. Obrien has shown work in Northwest Aids Foundation exhibitions for several years as well as exhibiting in 1999 and 1998 Henry Art Gallery "Bash" exhibitions and several Bumbershoot shows. Her work has been the subject of positive reviews in The Seattle Times, The Everett Herald and The Marysville Globe.

  For more information please call Jeffrey Moose, director of Jeffrey Moose Gallery and Curator for the Alexis Hotel, at 206-467-6951 or at jmoose@oz.net