Considering the artistic legacy of Seattle native Karl Krogstad, one cannot help but be reminded of those great American counter-culture icons who helped shape our modern existence by daring to show us things in a different way. Kind of like our own, private Timothy Leary up here in the Great Northwest, Krogstad seeks to stretch the consciousness of the people not with psychedelics, but through the mind-altering medium of independent film and other artistic devices.

Krogstad has been called the greatest filmmaker the Northwest has ever known, producing and directing more than 65 shorts and feature-length films of every type - animation, live action, documentary and found footage collage. He has won 30 awards from most major film festivals around the world and his unconventional expressions on celluloid have attracted legions of fans around the globe. In the early 1990s Krogstad became the accidental hero of musicians and street artists in Seattle as the only motion picture director ever sued by the city of Seattle for postering. Facing a $55,000 fine and 11 years in prison, Krogstad said the experience was “horrific.” After about a year and six court dates, a judge ruled the lawsuit frivolous and charges were dropped, chalking up a definite win for the underdog and making postering in Seattle safer for everybody.

Krogstad is also a writer and just published his first book “Shot to Death.” He is a prolific painter as well, having shown his works in Seattle galleries for more than a decade. This month, Tacomans have numerous chances to meet this fascinating character, as he is embarking on a three-prong T-Town tour where the curious will have ample opportunity to “turn on” and “tune in” to what is going on inside Krogstad’s very active head.

“Three Thursdays with Karl Krogstad” kicks off Nov. 19 at Two Vaults Gallery for an evening of food, philosophy and a collection of fine art created by Krogstad over the course of many years up to the present. His pleasing art is immediately accessible to even the most casual of gallery viewers - a seaside resort in Italy, an off-the-beaten-path village in France, a romantic Russian riverscape at night - and sometimes he will fuse two scenes into one to create a contemporary vision of aged places.

For two decades Krogstad has visited France every year and carries with him an inexpensive camera to take pictures from which he later paints. He enjoys this process very much and finds renewed excitement in expressing himself through painting after spending so many years (and hours) of his life behind a movie camera and editing “a zillion films,” as he put it. “Films are a lot harder to make than paintings,” he said in a recent interview. “I have come to not enjoy making films and I’ve come to enjoy painting a lot. I think that’s a function of being older, and probably wiser.”  

In contrast to his edgy, avant-garde films, Krogstad’s paintings are steeped in classical art a la French masters like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. He says two of his definite influences are French artists Raoul Dufy and Fernand Leger.

But while Krogstad’s works may allude to his influences, there is a certain modern, hip quality to his paintings that keep them relevant in the 21st century. His paintings come in all sizes and are affordable to own, priced to sell right off the walls of Two Vaults Gallery. On the backs of his framed art Krogstad adds all kinds of ephemera he calls “goofy stuff” (such as an original production script of the Ingmar Bergman film “Cries and Whispers” that he has attached to one particular painting). With Krogstad, you never know what you will get. Come and meet him during Art Walk on Nov. 19 at Two Vaults, 602 S. Fawcett Ave. The party starts at 5 p.m. Two Vaults’ “Kristmas with Krogstad” exhibit continues through Jan. 16, 2010.

The next stop on Krogstad’s tour will be Dec. 3 at the main branch of the Tacoma Public Library, where he will greet fans and signs copies of his very first book, “Shot to Death.” The author spent 20 years bringing “Shot to Death” to completion. “It’s a distillation of all my film theory and practice collided together. It isn’t a book about me. It’s really written for budding filmmakers,” he said. With a forward by Tom Robbins and preface by Gus Van Sant, “all that follows relates to the things that have allowed me to make those films,” according to the author. Books will be for sale ($19.99) during the signing, which begins at 7 p.m.

Lastly, “Three Thursdays with Karl Krogstad” wraps up with a special showing of one of his most recent films, “The Perfect Show,” at the Grand Cinema. A collection of six shorts, Krogstad said the “The Perfect Show” includes three films that have “haunted” him for decades, including “Offerings for the Shrine of Circusanity,” which took eight years to complete. After the screening, Krogstad will host a question and answer session with the audience. Dec. 10 at 7 p.m., 606 S. Fawcett Ave.

Learn more about Krogstad at www.karlkrogstad.com.