Regional painter Tweed Meyer is the featured artist at Pierce County Libraryâ??s Peninsula Branch in Gig Harbor. Entitled â??Tweedâ??s Treasures,â?? the exhibition runs through the end of June.

The exhibit consists of a dozen or so of Meyerâ??s works â?? hung on the walls here and there throughout the library. A viewer must search carefully to see them all. Some are on the wall behind the public computers while others are tucked away in quiet reading areas.

A versatile artist, Meyer works in a multitude of media. In addition to paintings on canvas, there are also works on paper: pastels, pen and ink, washes, and paints. At least one piece incorporates collage elements. In a glass case near the entrance of the library is a display of some of Meyerâ??s painted scarves and a ceramic fish.

A graduate of the Northwest College of Art in Poulsbo, Meyer pulls her inspiration straight from the living source â?? painting directly outdoors or at bars, festivals and cafes (she recently did live painting of musicians as they performed at The Swiss in Tacoma).

Although Meyer claims to be following in the footsteps of the Impressionists â?? due to her practice of plein air painting â?? it is the Post-Impressionists, namely Vincent Van Gogh, to whom she bears the nearest kinship.

A large landscape near the libraryâ??s study rooms, for example, captures the thick abundance of growth that is the hallmark of the Northwestâ??s somewhat ro-manticized sense of itself. The forms of a rustic barn and outbuildings can be made out amid the tangled yellow-greens, purples, browns, yellows and blues. Her choice of color seems made with a wild easiness. Meyerâ??s hand is quick and loose in this garish evocation of place.

Another Northwest landscape is hung above the public computers. Unlike the piece previously discussed, this one is rich with a mellower blend of autumnal color and depicts rolls of hay with thick forest in the background.

In addition to landscapes, there are several examples of Meyerâ??s portraiture. Lush works in pastel on paper capture scenes of musicians with their instruments. One, obviously painted live while the musicians were on stage, bears the signatures of the band members, each under his own likeness.

Other little drawings and art pieces in various media are encountered throughout the library. There is a charming picture of a bearded man done in wisps of blue and white. Like a storybook character â?? Rip Van Winkle perhaps â?? the man sleeps in the tangle of his own profuse beard.

One drawback of the show is that no identification cards are included with the artworks. The title and the art media used for each piece thus remain unknown to the viewer. To further confuse matters, two other artists, Norma Meyer and Shelly Sass, also have a few works in the exhibit, blended in with that of Tweed Meyer. It takes a careful eye to distinguish the work of one artist from that of another.

Nevertheless, Tweed Meyer is an artist to watch for in upcoming exhibitions. Previous venues for her work include The Swiss and The Karpeles Manuscript Museum. In July and August, Meyerâ??s work will be on display at Key Center Library.

â??Tweedâ??s Treasuresâ?? runs through June at the Peninsula Branch library, located at 4424 Point Fosdick Dr. NW in Gig Harbor. For further information on the artist visit www.tweedmeyer.com.