Pacific Northwest artist Fred Holcomb left one field of artistic design to expand his reach into another. The Tacoma-born artist says he has always painted, but he's only been exhibiting his work in galleries for about the last 20 years. A professional architect since the 1970s, Holcomb left the field a few years ago, completed an MFA degree from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and now exhibits his paintings extensively in the Pacific Northwest. Holcomb describes his style as "gestural and expressive," his large-scale abstract landscapes and seascapes attempting to evoke the wide open spaces of the American West and the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean. Holcomb works mostly in oils and acrylics, and lately has been working with subtly graded color washes, a process akin to large-scale watercolors, according to Holcomb. He prefers to work on what he calls human size paintings. "I use the full reach of my arms when painting," he says, "It's a very physical activity!" A collection of Holcomb's work is currently on display at Silver Heron Gallery, 15 SE Bay Street in Depoe Bay.