Canvassing the art world for a love match

SWF seeks guy who shares a love for Picasso's blue period? Lanae Rivers-Woods is your kind of matchmaker.

The owner of La Familia Gallery and her artist friends have decided to match singles based on their interpretations of abstract paintings.

They ask singles to rate 10 works of art based on composition, color and content, all to be used to pair singles up based on similar tastes.

Those singles will meet their matches on Feb. 9 at the Pioneer Square gallery for a free evening of wine, hors d'oeuvres and chocolate with live music.

(The artists still want more singles to match up. Go to lafamiliallc.comto apply for free. Deadline is Jan. 31.)

With Valentine's Day coming, Rivers-Woods and her artist friends were chatting about how stressful that romantic day can be for their single friends. That dredged up memories of their bad dates, which led to that familiar whine of it's-hard-to-meet-someone-here and the cry of online-singles-don't-end-up-being-who-they-claim-to-be.

So these artists decided to play Cupid.

They'll take age, height and occupation into consideration, but the matching will be based mostly on how a candidate rates and evaluates paintings and photographs.

For instance, a woman who sees angst in an image and tension in the red color scheme wouldn't be matched up with a guy who finds harmony in that same artwork.

But a guy who thinks that the red is harsh with the pink backdrop? Score.

It's all subjective and unscientific, of course. Then again, it's not like anyone else has created the textbook on finding eternal bliss, she said.

Even singles who know little about art can apply to be set up. "They just have to come in with an open mind. You aren't grilled on your knowledge of art history. You just have to be curious" about art, said Rivers-Woods.

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com