Struggling to find her way in the art world as an amateur photographer, Elizabeth Gadbois, originally from Nashville, found a platform amongst the high-class, upscale surroundings of the Beverly Hills “Affair in the Gardens” Art Expo.

After being rejected three different times, Gadbois’ hand-tinted photo work was finally accepted, finally unveiled. From that very show Gadbois was catapulted into the profession as she made more sales than she ever had and found an agent in the same afternoon — leading to an exclusive 25-year contract with a Los Angeles Gallery.

Now she’s hoping to build the same sort of launching pad on Bainbridge Island for Northwest artists. In line with that wish, she’s spearheaded the inaugural Bainbridge Island Art Expo — a free event which kicks off at 10 a.m. Aug. 4 at her 2.5 acre property on Manzanita Road. (Directions are available Online at www.artexpobi.com.).

She said the idea for the event was derived from her experience at the Beverly Hills affair with the direction of a traditional art expo. To that end, the two-day affair on Bainbridge will feature two galleries full of artwork, conversation, demonstration and even a bit of lecture.

“When you take all that and infuse it with a love of music and local history, you have a grassroots art expo that is uniquely Bainbridge,” Gadbois said. “It doesn’t quite have the attitude of an art expo, but we’ve got the ambition. And also, I think we’ve got a lot of talent.

With this first-ever event, Gadbois is opening up an opportunity to more than 30 other artists that she juried between April and June.

The cadre of artists, exhibiting eight to nine pieces each in this year’s expo, ranges in media from sculpture to photography with an emphasis on paintings.

The large scale sculpture of Karsten Boysen and the copper woven peace kimonos made by Catherine Foster will be shown in the same relative space as Carrie Goller’s grandeur oil fruit still lifes and Don Wesley’s life-sized bald eagle displaying its eight-foot wingspan.

All works will be on sale, on a scale of $20 to $33,000, Gadbois said.

“We’re hoping to attract the public with a high-quality art exhibit, combined with great music and local history,” she added.

Local stringers like Jeanne Rose and Jim Bybee as well as other local players like Ranger and the Rearrangers will be adding extra entertainment to the event, while Goller will be giving an encaustic painting demonstration and Bainbridge photographer Pete Saloutos will give a keynote address on what keeps an artist passionate.

Those amenities should “incorporate some of the trade show, expo atmosphere,” Gadbois said.

And as a testament to the need for an art expo in the Puget Sound region, in that three month span of the expo’s call for artists, Gadbois got a big enough response that she ended up having to turn some quality work away based on space constrictions.

“Most major cities have an Art Expo,” Gadbois said. “As far as I know Seattle doesn’t have one. I’d love to see a city-wide Art Expo at the Convention Center, but for now, I’m happy to host our own little folksy Art Expo on Bainbridge — setting the standard with high quality art.”

She noted that she’s had the idea brewing for quite sometime now, just waiting for the right place to pour it. However an art expo didn’t seem to fit in the confines of any other existing event.

So, she finally decided to host an event at the storied Manzanita Road property where she’s lived for about eight years. Once the ball started rolling, momentum came strong.

On the organization side of things, Gadbois has worked largely alone on logistics and in gathering support from the community. The event has garnered endorsements from the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council as well as the Chamber of Commerce and a host of other local arts organizations.

And now it all comes to a head as the first annual expo kicks off this weekend.

The first annual Bainbridge Island Art Expo will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 4-5 at the historic farmhouse — 13398 Manzanita Rd. on Bainbridge. Free. Directions and more information is available Online at www.artexpobi.com.