The monthly First Friday art and wine event returns to Mercer Island 5 p.m.-8 p.m. on Friday, May 3, and hosts for an encore 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.

Clarke and Clarke Art and Artifacts will hold an opening for “Spontaneous Expressions.” Artists Barbara Bouman Jay and Scott Gibson will be on hand for the opening. Refreshments will be served.

The exhibit is an exploration of texture, form, shape and composition as well as the spontaneity in their individual styles of expression, the gallery said in a press release.

Bouman Jay blends her experiences from times spent in the Sahara Desert, the coasts of Florida and the rural hills of Southern California into paintings, using her modified fresco technique called “A Secco.” She paints on dry plaster, using pigments mixed in water, dragging, layering and removing areas while building a smooth surface then adding geometric elements to provide balance, contrast and mystery. In her “nonrepresentational works” she aims to provoke a response, create a sense of intrigue and an awareness of her aesthetic in terms of balance, space, color with spontaneity and order. She works on several pieces simultaneously.

Scott Gibson, a Washington native, became a full-time artist in 2017 after a career in engineering. He initially had chosen to study art as his major in college. Mid-career he and his family took on the challenge of the deep jungles of Papua New Guinea doing medical and linguistic work. Today, Scott creates art using resin or the ancient encaustic technique. Layering pigmented wax or resin, gouging, scraping, torching, grinding, embedding and burnishing in his process enabling him to create what he has visualized. He says his process of “essential interacting colors and textures help represent the complex subjects.” By embedding other mediums into the resin he creates depth.

Clarke and Clarke Art and Artifacts is located at 7605 SE 27th St. #105 on Mercer Island.