Quick-draw artist: Debut museum art series leads with Chris Taylor
- Laurie Craig
- Sep 21
- 3 min read
Sketching workshop kicks off events scheduled on first and third Saturdays of each month through April of 2026
By Laurie Craig
Juneau Independent
Thirty people were seated around guest artist Chris Taylor as he sketched a samovar on display in the Russian Alaska exhibit gallery at the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museums on Saturday afternoon.
He explained his technique of focusing his attention on the object while drawing without looking at the paper propped on his easel. Taylor described the steps of capturing shadow, light and contours, building from pale lines to bold ones using his preferred 2B charcoal pencil as the samovar took shape on the page.
“The horizontal lines mark where the main components are,” Taylor said as the lines rapidly materialized on his large sketch pad. “You’re training your eye and hand to work together. Look at the object, not at the drawing.” He spoke of setting a timer to encourage artists to quickly capture the essence of the subject.
After the presentation Taylor, who was a full-time art instructor at the University of Alaska Southeast for several years, encouraged attendees to disperse through the museum and select an item to practice the sketching technique themselves.
Taylor was the first presenter in a winter series scheduled for every first and third Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the state museum, known by the abbreviation “SLAM.”
Sponsored by the museum friends group (www.foslam.org), the “Sketching in the Museum” series aims to “get more artists to enjoy and draw the objects,” said Pua Maunu, a board member of the friends group and an accomplished artist herself. As Taylor spoke, she was quickly drawing in her small sketchbook, putting his lessons into practice.
“It’s hard to take all of this in,” Maunu said with a glance around the museum, “but this activity lets you spend more time. Most people walk through (the exhibit areas),” she said. “This is a different way to look at it, to sit and draw. It informs your drawing.”
The museum offers exhibits on Indigenous culture, state history, industries and Alaskan ways of life. In addition to a large gallery for changing featured artist shows and a whimsical children’s area, the building displays a popular two-story eagle nest tree exhibit, replicating a similar tree first created in the 1967 Alaska cession centennial museum. That building on Whittier Street was removed and replaced in 2016 with the current Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building, nicknamed the “APK.”
The building also houses a main floor lecture hall, large atrium used for monthly First Friday and special events, plus receptions and concerts. The upper floor (free, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays) is a research center for genealogists and historians. Librarians are available to assist with historical photo, manuscript, map and object collections, as well as Alaskan newspapers on microfilm and microfiche, and the state archives. Details and fees for the museum can be found at www.museums.alaska.gov.
Painter and printmaker Jim Heumann collaborated with Maunu, board president Cindy Smith (a former student of Taylor’s) and museum chief curator Addison Field in developing the winter art series. Heumann was enthusiastic about upcoming 2025 “Sketching in the Museum” speakers.
Pat Race is featured Oct. 4 and there will be no program on the third Saturday in October, which coincides with the Alaska Day holiday. Heumann, a printmaker who conducts art workshops through the Juneau Makerspace on Douglas Island, said he is considering joining as a speaker in the winter series as well.
The winter art series is scheduled for first and third Saturdays through April 20, 2026. Workshops are free for Friends of the SLAM members and donation are welcome from other participants.
• Contact Laurie Craig at lauriec@juneauindependent.com.
