Local artist and father of two, Jeff Bossler has worked and lived on Orcas Island with his wife for the past 31 years. Since childhood, Jeff has, on his own, developed and utilized his natural talent in pen, oils, and photography to express and celebrate our surrounding landscapes. Also known in the past as “Jeff Bush”, his works reflect an inspirational sense of “heightened reality.”

Jeff was born in eastern Pennsylvania but his daydreaming mind was always on the west coast from Alaska to California. He moved west in the mid-1970s, working seasonal jobs including 7 years with the US Forest Service and various nursery, landscape, and agricultural jobs.

“These past 28 years on Orcas Island have been about building a house and business from nearly nothing and launching a son and daughter into their successful worlds. "Now that the nest is empty, it’s time to re-enter my world of artistic expression, and to make some of my past and present works available is a good way to start.”

Jeff is extremely fortunate to have his eye sight. At age two in 1957, by the philanthropic work of the Lions Club, he had congenital cataracts removed from both eyes the old fashioned way. Later, with the marvel of modern technology and the awesome empathic actions of two people, Jeff was again blessed with the gift of maintaining and improving his vision to nearly perfect standards … something most of us take for granted.

Through life’s journey, Jeff has been paying forward some of the good will. In 2001, he became active in the Himalayan nation of Nepal, working with a non-profit organization working to further the educations of bright students who would not otherwise have a chance in the public school system, and to establish a medical center. He went to Nepal 4 times. Now that the work of the non-profit is nearing completion due to great success in the field, Jeff would like to keep "paying it forward" by raising money for non-profit work through his art and photography.

Jeff’s life has been abundantly focused on utilizing our gift of sight and visual beauty since his pre-school days.

You can see an interview (video) about Jeff's art life with Nancy Bloom on Life Passages at: http://archive.org/details/PA866191

You can learn more about Jeff and his works at www.alpineseaside.com