Last night (ok, two nights ago now since it takes me so long to finish a post!) was First Thursday in Portland, an evening of walking through the Pearl district and checking out art in the galleries. It's the first time I've gone to a first Thursday, although I have attended Last Thursday events over here on the east side of town. But last night I had special reasons to go: to see and support some friends.
Stephanie Brockway, a mixed media assemblage artist who carves wood and adds paint and all kinds of fun, had a little booth in the Street Gallery. She was brave to be out there, as the weather was very iffy and not many artists showed up to set up booths, including me. (Maybe next month.) But it's always a pleasure to see Stephanie's carvings. I bought this little heart from her: hand carved, painted, sanded, and do I feel a touch of wax? I love the teal and stripes, and the tactility of it! And check out Stephanie's postcard for an upcoming show at the Guardino Gallery, May 30-June 23: The Adventures of Tree Girl! Stephanie says that tree girl here is about 5 feet tall! It's going to be an amazing show!
On my way to Stephanie's booth I passed the wares of another artist, Shannon Lewis. She had prints of her paintings mounted on wood. I found them utterly charming, seeing the texture of pencil and paint. And the humor - had to buy one (well, they were so reasonable!) I love that there is art out there that is affordable so that I can collect it! Here is a little detail of it:
Myra Clark is the other friend I was heading out to support. She was having an opening of her solo show, A Moment in Time. One thing that amazes me about Myra is that I've known her for years as my boss in the summer program I frequently work in as a teacher. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I learned Myra was also an artist! She is doing wonderful work in painting and drawing. I love her abstracts! Here is the postcard from Myra's show:
As I moved through the gallery I became more and more enthralled with Myra's abstracts, curious and fascinated by the content behind them. These paintings depict Myra's journey of recovery after a brain injury caused by a bike accident. Go here to see a video produced by Gallery 114, where Myra's show is hanging, to learn more about Myra's process and thoughts on her work. If you'll be in Portland any time between April 4 and April 27, I encourage you to see Myra's show!
I talked to Myra about working with abstracts. She said it's very soothing and encouraged me to try it. So I went home and I tried. It IS soothing - and fun! Squishing and dripping and drawing... But I will only show a peek of what I painted - it still needs work!
We'll see where this takes me... This is going to be a fun trip!
Special note to Gloria: Thank you for always being there and letting me know what you think!!!
Stephanie Brockway, a mixed media assemblage artist who carves wood and adds paint and all kinds of fun, had a little booth in the Street Gallery. She was brave to be out there, as the weather was very iffy and not many artists showed up to set up booths, including me. (Maybe next month.) But it's always a pleasure to see Stephanie's carvings. I bought this little heart from her: hand carved, painted, sanded, and do I feel a touch of wax? I love the teal and stripes, and the tactility of it! And check out Stephanie's postcard for an upcoming show at the Guardino Gallery, May 30-June 23: The Adventures of Tree Girl! Stephanie says that tree girl here is about 5 feet tall! It's going to be an amazing show!
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| Stephanie Brockway's art |
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| Detail of a Shannon Lewis painting - LOVE that blimp! |
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| Detail of painting by Myra Clark |
I talked to Myra about working with abstracts. She said it's very soothing and encouraged me to try it. So I went home and I tried. It IS soothing - and fun! Squishing and dripping and drawing... But I will only show a peek of what I painted - it still needs work!
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| Detail of Yellow Day, a wip by moi... |
Special note to Gloria: Thank you for always being there and letting me know what you think!!!
xoxo lulu