Take a Walking Tour of Top Art Galleries

To discover why Cannon Beach is known as one of America’s 100 Top Art Towns, it only takes a stroll around our compact village to understand why. Here’s a suggested walking route that will lead you to all our top galleries, works by nationally known artists, top emerging Northwest talent, and even a working glass-blowing studio.

A Local Master & Fresh Finds Nearby

Start your tour in the heart of downtown, where long-time Cannon Beach painter Jeffrey Hull operates a spacious gallery upstairs in Sandpiper Square and features large-scale watercolor paintings of the iconic Oregon Coast. Leaving the square, turn left on Hemlock Street and again on 2nd Street to see the bold, contemporary works by up-and-coming artists at Archimedes Gallery.

Three Galleries in One Stop

Returning to Hemlock, turn left and look for The Landing, where you’ll discover three galleries in one scenic courtyard featuring a sculpted bronze fountain. Check out Bronze Coast Gallery, where the primary focus is beautiful sculpture; Modern Villa Gallery for vivid dreamlike paintings; and Images of the West, where you’ll find color-rich Northwest landscape photography. 

Discover the Origins of Our Local Art Scene

Continue north on Hemlock to the crosswalk and Cannon Beach’s oldest operating gallery, White Bird Gallery, home to a delightfully eclectic collection of fine art and studio craft. The gallery has been open for business since 1971 and is a cornerstone of Cannon Beach’s art community. Leaving the gallery, turn right and duck down the mural-lined passageway to the right. 

A Sculpture Garden and Northwest Masters

Walk through the courtyard to Spruce Street and look for the colorful sculpture garden on the right to find Northwest By Northwest Gallery, featuring some of the Northwest’s most notable artists. Here, you’ll find photography from Hasselblad Masters Award-winner Christopher Burkett and sculpture from Georgia Gerber, whose work can also be found in public spaces throughout the Northwest, including Seattle’s Pike Place Market and surrounding Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse.

Enter a World of Color

Turn right on 2nd to view the stunning original art at Sesame + Lilies' Speakman Studios upstairs from their interior design store. Continue south on Hemlock, crossing over 1st Street, where you will arrive at DragonFire Gallery, a world of vibrant color and contemporary vision. The gallery itself is a work of art, with walls and ceilings drenched in vivid colors and doorways in unexpected shapes. The featured art here includes work from local and regional artists in abundant media, including paint, glass, photography, wood carving, sculpture, and mixed media. 

Whimsy and Enchantment

Across Hemlock on the corner of 1st Street, you enter the beautiful, rustic Steidel's Art studio. William Steidel has created numerous original artworks for the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest over the last 57-plus years, and his Cannon Beach Lamplighter original artwork was adopted to forever represent Haystack Holidays in 2019. You can find him in his creative corner on any given day, drawing a whimsical new creation. His fantastical fairytale-like storytelling through art is something you don't want to miss.

Walk to Midtown Mastery 

Return to Hemlock Street and turn left for a stroll of less than half a mile to Cannon Beach’s Midtown district, where you will find along the way the Greaver Gallery and, a few blocks further, the working glassblowing studio of Icefire Glassworks. Here, you’ll always find shelves glowing with the light-catching work of local glass artists Jim Kingwell and Suzanne Kindland, and (if you’re lucky!) you may even discover the artists working on their latest piece. Walk across Hemlock to Cannon Beach Gallery, where the non-profit Cannon Beach Arts Association offers new exhibits every month and occasional workshops on various art-related topics. To wrap up your gallery tour, walk a few blocks down to Sunset Blvd. The creative works will enchant you at Miska Studio Gallery on the corner. This artist-owned and operated studio gallery features artists in residence practicing various mediums.

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