KELLIE TALBOT

At the peak of WWII, Bremerton was home to an estimated 80,000 people due to the war effort in the Pacific. In the 1970s, Bremerton's population dwindled to just above a quarter of what is was during the war. And in 1978, the Bremerton City Council declared the entire downtown as a "blighted area". As economies change, so do cultures. Jobs that produced tangible products of iron and steel are being pushed out, traded in grasp of the New. These paintings pay tribute to Bremerton's history through the exploration of architecture from its boom years.