It’s First Friday and we’re open late, come join us!
This month we’re showcasing Doug Hunt and his new digital work alongside his traditional oil paintings.
Digital painting provides the artist with a ready canvas wherever he is and the means to bring expressive, affordable artwork to the public. Working with digital tools means suddenly having very few limits to creativity. Artists can create almost any canvas size, use multiple layers, make and customize their own brushes, dip into an endless palette of colors–the options are practically endless.
Stop in and see how a traditional artist is using this new medium to paint beautiful, affordable images. Tradition Meets Digital Art, Paintings by Doug Hunt opens Friday, September 4th at Village Frame and Gallery. We’ll be open that evening from 6 p.m. – 9 pm for First Friday at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219.
Digital Art Demonstration with Doug Hunt
Friday and Saturday, September 18th (12 to 5 pm) and 19th (12 to 3 pm)
Artist’s Statement
As far back as I can remember (and that’s back further than I can remember now) I’ve always wanted to be an artist. I wanted to be a fine artist even before I knew what fine art was. As a young boy I was inspired by the great masters. Who you wonder? Da Vinci? Rembrandt? Well no, actually it was Walt Disney and “Big Daddy” Ed Roth. I cut my teeth on cartoon characters, hot rod art and psychedelic posters. Even in the military, I took advantage of every artistic opportunity and for a year and a half landed a job where my duties included photography and graphic arts. The other two and a half years wasn’t nearly as fun. It was my first practical experience for a lifetime career in graphic art, fine art and photography.
Commercial art and photography was the easy part, trying to fulfill the fine art dream was a challenge. So the path went like this. Three years at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham Oregon trying to figure out how to become a working artist… It wasn’t exactly the staple of the daily want ads. A couple of years doing freelance architectural renderings for home planners and 7 years as a part-time instructor at Mt. Hood Community College. In 1982 I took a position as illustrator for the American Military Club System in Wiesbaden Germany. If you’re surprised such a job exists, trust me, so was I! I loved living in Europe and absorbed experiences that would later show up in my work. I loved working for the government somewhat less however, so after a year I came home to resume my freelance career. The majority of my work was detailed illustration work mostly pen and ink. My fine art tended to be looser in an attempt to escape all the precise work I did on a daily bases. In the mid 80’s I began painting with oil pastels and paint sticks. Pens and pencils to paint sticks was a natural transition for me and with that my fine artwork became more impressionistic.
The dream of becoming a fine artist was never far from my mind and in 2001 I found my opportunity. I was picked up by an art rep and started producing 20-30 originals a month for sale nationally. I also got involved in the etching process and was producing hand colored etchings.
Whether working in oils or creating an original print hand pulled from a press, I find great enjoyment in working from my imagination. As I look at my paintings, I have to think that they are influenced by an underlying desire to escape, to be somewhere quiet and unhurried. My favorite pieces are always those that have a sense of calm … just a sunny open space and an inviting path to nowhere in particular.
A few months ago, a customer brought us six lovely hand-embroidered chair covers. Could we preserve them? She wanted to present them as gifts to her grandchildren. What a great idea!
The Gallery will continue to feature A Lifetime of Work by Kaye Synoground, through the month of July. The show features new and old works from Kaye’s 20-year career as an artist, and is her first since she was forced to take several months off to care for her health. If you weren’t able to see this exhibit in June, be sure to come visit us this month.
