If, during this summer, your artistic vision grows larger than the great museums and galleries of Seattle, there are options for the adventurous. A classic, cheap way to get out of town, there is something romantic and hopeful about packing up the car and heading into the unknown. Here are some artful places to check out this summer.

Vancouver, B.C.

Vancouver Art Gallery

750 Hornby Street

Admission by donation on Tuesday evenings, and the gallery is open until 9 p.m.

Along with its permanent collection, which is the largest in the province according to the Web site, the Vancouver Art Gallery will be home to many interesting shows this summer. Two shows will open June 11 and run until September: “Monet to Dali: Modern Masters” from the Cleveland Museum of Art and “Andrea Zittel: Critical Space.”

“Monet to Dali” includes works by Manet, Monet, Cezanne, Picasso and Van Gogh among others, and is divided into four groups: Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, early modern sculptors and avant-garde artists interested in Dadaism, Cubism and Surrealism. This show is unique in its scope and variety and should provide a brilliant overview to the European modern movement.

A completely different time period and subject matter, but likely asking similar questions, “Andrea Zittell: Critical Space” presents the work of one contemporary American artist/designer/engineer. There is no artist quite like Andrea Zittel, whose explored media border on everyday life. This is a traveling exhibit, co-organized and circulated by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York.

Charles H. Scott Gallery

Emily Carr Institute

1399 Johnston Street

Granville Island is one of the major tourist attractions in Vancouver, B.C. On the island, you will find quite a few galleries, boutiques and fun shops, as well as a market. Often overlooked, however, is the gallery inside Emily Carr Institute. According to the Web site, this is an internationally recognized public gallery space that features the work of professional artists. Other galleries at the Emily Carr Institute are the Concourse and Media Galleries, which feature work by members of the ECI community.

Contemporary Art Gallery

555 Nelson Street

A non-profit, public gallery, the Contemporary Art Gallery is “dedicated to the research, exhibition, documentation and education about contemporary visual art as it is practiced locally, nationally and internationally,” according to its Web site. Admission is by donation, so anyone can visit regardless of finances.

On display until June 17 are three exhibits: the work of Pavel Pepperstein, who works in writing, painting and drawing; Robin Peck, a Canadian sculptor, who will “bring together recent works that reference the formal lexicon of sculpture, colliding it with the grand gestures of architecture”; and Derek Brunen, who is known for installations on the outside windows of galleries — you won’t want to pass this gallery by, and that is the point. Later this summer, opening June 29 and showing until Aug. 19, three more exhibits will be on display: “Dr. Strangelove Dr. Stangelove,” “There are those: Drawings by Six Artists” and Bluff.

Shoreline Public Art Walk

www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/oca/PublicArt/pdf/ShorelineWalk.PDF

Vancouver is full of public art, which is often overshadowed by the towering buildings and crowded streets. Divided by neighborhood, a downloadable guide provides an overview of the city’s public art. Look through it before you explore the city, and you’ll probably see things you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.

Portland, Oregon

PDX Contemporary Art

925 N.W. Flanders St.

www.pdxcontemporaryart.com/

According to its Web site, PDX is “a unique voice in Portland’s art commuity, [which] exhibits work that is personal and individual; intellectually and visually satisfying.” A new show featuring the architect of the new Seattle Art Museum, Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works, will run June 5-30. Cloepfil also designed both the original and current PDX locations, as well as the Museum of Arts & Design in New York and many other gallery spaces.

Portland Art Museum

1219 S.W. Park Ave.

portlandartmuseum.org/

The self-proclaimed “oldest museum in the Pacific Northwest,” the Portland Art Museum came into being in 1892 with the birth of the Portland Art Association. Founders believed that art should be accessible to everyone, and the museum has continued this tradition for more than a century. From June 2 - Sept. 16, the museum will host the only west-coast appearance of the traveling exhibit of Dutch masters, entitled “Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art.” Opening June 9 and running until Oct. 7, “APEX: Wes Mills” will be an exhibit of graphite and ink drawings by Wes Mills which, according to the Web site, “reflect a personal experience of the western landscape.” Later this summer, “Graphic Force, Humanist Vision” will feature the work of internationally acclaimed sculptor, printmaker, painter, calligrapher, essayist, book designer and poet Leonard Baskin.

Tacoma, WA

Tacoma Art Museum

Museum of Glass

1801 Dock Street

Free and open late on the third Thursday of every month

museumofglass.org

If the Tacoma Art Museum isn’t enough of a draw, the Museum of Glass should capture your attention. With onsite glass blowing and a display of glass art that cannot be found anywhere else, this museum is one of a kind. A long-running exhibit entitled “Contrasts: A Glass Primer” provides a comprehensive introduction to the medium. Mining Glass, opening June 16 and running until Feb. 3, 2008, will feature eight internationally known artists and explore how the medium of glass has expanded outside the Studio Glass movement.

Even more fantastic than a museum of glass is the Bridge of Glass that connects the museum to the downtown area. Immerse yourself in translucent color along this 500-foot pedestrian bridge and you will forget that you are only an hour from home.

1701 Pacific Ave.

Free and open late on the third Thursday of every month

www.tacomaartmuseum.org

A drive to Tacoma may not sound very exciting, but it is totally worth a day trip for the art that can be seen. The Tacoma Art Museum aims to connect people through art, according to the Web site, and is housed in a beautiful, newer building located in Tacoma’s Cultural District. The museum has a significant permanent collection, including a permanent installation by local glass artist Dale Chihuly.

“Sparkle Then Fade,” an exhibit of contemporary art exploring cultural issues such as consumerism, racism and sense of self through reflecting light, is on view until Sept. 3.