If you are familiar with Cannon Beach, you know that the village gets its fair share of inclement weather in the fall and winter.

But a definite perk shared by the local art galleries is being surrounded by beauty every day, no matter what the weather, as a client at DragonFire Gallery recently observed.

During a season full of gale force winds and endless precipitation, Cannon Beach is visited by artists and storm lovers who feel it is a perfect time and location to gather, create, and reflect on the awe-inspiring, exhilarating, and metaphorically rich forces of the natural world. The upcoming Stormy Weather Arts Festival Nov. 1 through 3, thus, is aptly named.

The galleries are currently in pre-Stormy mode, planning receptions, receiving and displaying new art and getting ready to welcome their artists, friends and visitors who will blow into town that weekend.

This is a time of of renewal and change and it is very energizing, said Lotte Greaver of DragonFire Gallery.

DragonFire is starting to receive a harvest bounty of new art from its artists. Mixed media artist Christina Lask has just delivered a new series of abstract and representational panels. Working in layers with with acrylic brush work, imbedded fossils and aggregate, Lasks work is multi-dimensional.

Her wall-hung pieces draw the viewer in and bring to mind the creative forces of the natural world that surrounds us in beauty, no matter what the weather, Greaver said.

DragonFire Gallery is downtown in Ecola Square.

Archimedes Gallery recently was welcomed as the newest member of the Cannon Beach Gallery Group.

We are thrilled to participate in our first Stormy Weather Festival, said co-owner Lindsey Oyala Bond.

The gallery will have a large group show embracing the mood and theme of stormy, with new works from renowned artists APAK, Catherine Thompson, Gala Bent, Martin Hsu, Matt Linares, Nathan Spoor and Nicole Gustafsson. Archimedes Gallery is on the second story of the new Larch and 2nd Street building.

At Primary Elements Gallery, Stormy Weather veteran Jeffry Mann has delivered several new tables built in the concept of a design that depicts a fin. Mann designs and builds his own concepts of tables and chairs using a variety of exotic and native hardwoods, including shedua, lacewood, iroko, zebrawood, walnut, and maple. The contrast of these elements in color and design make a statement as well as offering form and function.

Mann has shown his work in Primary Elements Gallery and attended the Stormy Weather and Spring Unveiling arts festivals for the past three seasons. Each year, he presents entirely new ideas in fine design and artistic elements.

Also at Primary Elements is a newly released bronze by Bill Churchill titled Mystic Vision of Crazy Horse. The limited edition bronze is patinaed to resemble the wood it was originally sculpted in.

An accomplished wood carver, Churchills artistic goal is to create sculpture that honors the natural beauty of wood. His primary focus is on Western, Native American, and wild life subject matter. Primary Elements Gallery is upstairs in Sandpiper Square.

Bronze Coast Gallery is anticipating the arrival of new works by Oregon artist David Crawford, who will introduce new bronze sculptures during Stormy Weather Arts Festival including a female form and a beast of burden. Crawford hand-builds each of his limited edition bronze sculptures in his home studio and foundry.

Colorado photographer Scott Peck also will be a guest at the festival, showing his images that blend technical knowhow with his sense of aesthetic beauty. New at Bronze Coast Gallery are small sculptures by Seth Vandable, known for his ability to capture the quiet strength and dignity of mankind in his compositions. Bronze Coast Gallery is downtown in The Landing.

Jeffrey Hull has been in his studio painting up a storm and has new original watercolors available. Beachgrass at Sunset is a seascape painted with the artists favorite time of day in mind.

As the sun dropped into the sea, these blades of beach grass caught my eye. I went back to the studio with my mind full of fresh inspiration, Hull said. Our rugged coastline with endless variations in weather and atmospheric moods provides me with inspiration at every turn. Another watercolor titled, Above the Sea, is part of an ongoing series of paintings inspired by hiking in the Pacific Northwest Coast. Jeffrey Hull Gallery is on the second floor of Sandpiper Square downtown.

George Vetter FotoArt has begun the roll-out of new, large, canvas giclees. The first is a sunrise image of the Grand Canyon framed in five complimentary layers. For Stormy Weather Arts Festival, expect to see a surprise guest painter in the gallery.

Vetter is also looking forward to Halloween; in his tradition, he will be at the door of the gallery with candy and camera capturing (then posting online) trick-or-treaters of all ages, sizes, shapes and costumes. You can find six years of Cannon Beach Halloween photos at www.Cannon-Beach.net/events/halloween. George Vetter FotoArt is downtown in the Village Centre.

The Cannon Beach Gallery is hosting an invitational group show, Shadow and Light, through Oct. 28. Shadow and Light was curated by Susan C. Walsh, a Manzanita artist. Walsh invited 10 regional artists to explore the subject of shadow and light in both two- and three-dimensional work.

The hope is that you will walk away from this show with a feeling of the amazing power of art to transform an abstract concept into work that provokes thought and compassion for the human experience, Walsh said. The Cannon Beach Gallery is in midtown, next to Bald Eagle Café.

A new bronze fox by sculptor Georgia Gerber is at Northwest by Northwest Gallery. During Stormy Weather, Gerber will present a slide show of her public sculptures and three new large works from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1.. Northwest By Northwest Gallery is on Spruce Street across from the City Park.

For the Stormy Weather Arts Festival 2013 schedule, images and biographiess of the visiting artists, visit the Cannon Beach Gallery Groups website at www.CBGalleryGroup.com