An iconic portrait exhibit opens in an iconic Sitka bar

An iconic portrait exhibit opens in an iconic Sitka bar

Steve Lawrie established his reputation as a large-canvas portrait artist. But This Thing We Call the Ocean is an homage to fishing, and to the people who thrive in Sitka’s maritime culture. “Some of those people unload the boats, some of those people catch the fish, some of those people repair the boats,” says Lawrie. “There are paintings of boats at sea with usually gnarly-looking water, you know, because half the time it is.” Sitka artist Ste…