The weather is lovely and it’s socially distanced First Friday in the Village! Things are a bit different, but shops are open and extending their hours (and some are having great sales!) So come on out tonight, enjoy a beverage or dinner al fresco and stop in at Village Frame and Gallery to see the new show in the gallery – Acrylic paintings by Liz Thoresen. Her show opens today through the end of September. We’re open tonight until 7pm and hope to see you!
On the Horizon by Liz thoresen
About Liz Thoresen
Liz Thoresen pursued her artistic passion from an early age and became an Art teacher in 1973. Her interest at the time was Ceramics and she moved to Australia where she taught High School art and Ceramics at Caulfield Institute of Technology in Melbourne. After returning to the United States in 1980, she and her husband owned and operated a veterinary clinic for 26 years.
She has since retired and has been able to pursue her passion of painting full time. An award wining artist, she has participated in many local and national group and solo shows. Her art has been published in two books and on the cover of the international magazine, the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association. She is a member of the the International Society of Acrylic Artists, and the International Society of Experimental Artists.
Colorful Musings III by Liz Thoresen
Publications: Her painting “The Ride of Your Life” was included in Lesley Riley’s books “Inspirational Quotes Illustrated” and “Quotes Illustrated” and her painting “Gizzy” was on the cover of the February 2015 issue of the international magazine, the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association. “Staying the Course” was selected to be included in the Q1 2018 international magazine, 1340. Her painting, “Whispers in the Grove” has been selected by the US State Department for loan at the US Embassy in Brunei.
Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97219 in the heart of Multnomah Village. Our adjusted regular hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm. You can call us at 503-245-8001.
Does your wall art work for you? Today, more than ever, people are doing double-time from their homes: work, school and even gym time is all conducted from home now. What are people seeing on your walls during your Zoom meetings? Virtual conference calls have changed the way we view our walls, we want our colleagues to see a reflection of who we are.
Now that our homes are being used for multiple purposes, consider certificates or diplomas in home offices, ABC charts or multiplication tables in the schoolroom, or motivational posters in the home gym. Whatever you want to grace your walls, Village Frame & Gallery can help you find it, and frame it.
Art reflects the kind of people we are, our experiences, what we value and what we find beautiful. Your treasure might be an old cross-stitch, lovingly made by your grandmother, photos of your children or a unique painting you saved up for, but which ever it is, consider its placement on your wall and the quality of the frame.
It’s a joy for us to share the art experience with our customers. We see the art they love from paintings and drawings to sports paraphernalia ready for a shadowbox, kid art, fabric crafts and so many meaningful family photographs. Part of our work is ensuring that each treasure is taken care of in a quality framing package to protect and showcase that piece. Sometimes people like the art, but not the frame. It’s satisfying to help our clients see how re-framing can bring new life to a piece. We love talking to people about what they have on their walls!
Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97219 in the heart of Multnomah Village. Our adjusted regular hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm. You can call us at 503-245-8001.
Been to the Village lately? It looks a bit different. Restaurants are serving food under colorful canopies, we have new shops and restaurants opening as I write and Multnomah Days, starting today through Sunday, August 16th, has taken on a whole new look! A digital hunt for prizes, discounts, and more, Multnomah Days 2020 encourages you to explore many of the unique delights the Village has to offer. Perfect timing!
(Ad)Venture in the Village
Join us this weekend for (Ad)Venture in the Village – a clever digital twist on a classic scavenger hunt. A list of clues will be released on the Multnomah Village website beginning at noon on Friday. Decipher the clues to find which Village businesses have a special offer. QR codes posted at participating businesses will lead you along your path. Find out more here.
What will be the Village Frame and Gallery prize?! Click here for a sneak peek.
What’s new in the Village?
We’ve been awaiting the opening of Y’alla for quite a while and it’s finally here! Located in the old O’Connor’s location, Y’alla has options for take-out, delivery, dine-in and dine-out! The menu is currently taped to the windows and had us drooling. Hours and info at https://www.yallapdx.com. And as you drive by on Multnomah Blvd, check out the awesome mural on their back deck!
We peeked in the window of Arranged & Rooted Studio this morning and we’re so excited! Taking over the space where Anne Bocci once resided right next to Fat City, Arranged & Rooted opens at 4 pm today! Hours and more at https://www.arrangedandrooted.com.
Mad Sass Soap company is open in the space once graced by Jones & Jones Jewelers. It looks cool and inviting and a perfect addition to the Village. See more about Mad Sass Soap at https://madsasssoap.com.https://madsasssoap.com/
In the Gallery
Walk Breathe, oil and pastel paintings by Susan Kuznitsky remain in the gallery through the end of August.
Woodcuts and etchings by Jeanette Nuxoll will hang in our windows through the end of August. The perfect addition to the atmosphere for al fresco dining at Casa Vacca Italian!
Read more about Susan Kuznitshy and Jeanette Nuxoll here.
Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97219 in the heart of Multnomah Village. Our adjusted regular hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm. You can call us at 503-245-8001.
Village Frame & Gallery is pleased to feature local artist Susan Kuznitsky in the gallery with oil and pastel paintings in a show we call WalkBreathe. Susan writes:
“I have never appreciated the peace and safety of my home as much as I do now. The outside world has never felt as scary. I make it a point to remind myself each day how lucky I am to be here at the end of my road, in the woods, surrounded by nature and most recently, my hummingbirds that have finally found my feeder. Don’t get me wrong, it has been no picnic adjusting to this new lifestyle. Me, myself and I can get pretty down in the dumps!
“Enter Zoom… After a crash course on learning how to use Zoom, I am teaching Pastel Classes Online. And loving it! I am also using Zoom to connect with other artists all over the country as we support each other in this new world, as well as staying connected with friends and family.
Early Evening Walk by Susan Kuznitsky
“As part of my ‘The Art of Staying at Home’ therapy I painted a series of oil paintings from photos I took while walking through the beautiful woods at Gabrielle Park near my home. Walking in the woods is the other way I have been keeping myself sane.“
Forest Path by Susan Kuznitsky
Check out Susan’s website with paintings, workshop information and how to commission paintings by Susan, it’s worth a look! The address is www.susankuznitsky.com.
Intaglio prints in the windows by Jeanette Nuxoll and outdoor dining at Casa Vacca Italian Bistro & Bar
Quiet by Jeanette Nuxoll
We are happy to welcome Jeanette Nuxoll back to the gallery windows! Now is a perfect time to stroll by the shop, stop at the new Casa Vacca Italian Bistro & Bar alfresco dining area for a bite and beverage (check out their new menu and hours here) and enjoy Jeanette’s artwork in our windows! Read more about Jeanette Nuxoll here.
Miss the Dusty Divas show?
Serenity by Donna Stevens
Dusty Diva Donna Stevens has a new website where you can view her lovely pastels including Serenity, above. Her website is www.donnastevensfineart.com.
Yes, we’re open!
Yes, we’re open! We have temporarily changed our hours to allow for proper sanitizing and reduced staff, but we are excited to welcome you back to the gallery. We’re happy to work with you in the gallery during business hours, by appointment after hours and virtually via telephone, email and text. We look forward to your next project!
Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97219 in the heart of Multnomah Village. Our adjusted regular hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm. You can call us at 503-245-8001.
It’s a shared memory many of us have. It’s spring break, or the beginning of summer and we pile into a station wagon at the break of dawn, suitcases loaded, sandwiches packed, ready for an adventure. The road trip to places not yet seen, national parks and roadside attractions. Who didn’t want to stop at Wall Drug? After all, we’d been reading the billboards for hundreds of miles, it must be spectacular!
Pulling off at a roadside oasis or just a widening of the shoulder for lunch. We pulled out the sandwiches and someone put those nasty fizzy soda tablets in too much water and we ate a completely unsatisfying lunch (“Can’t we go to McDonald’s?”) And then, while the car was being loaded up, we went exploring. Most of the time we’d find nothing of interest, but every once in a while we’d find a creek or small river, maybe a frog pond or, Jackpot! A small waterfall! These were the best of times. After playing around in the water for not nearly long enough we’d climb back into the station wagon, soaking wet and happy.
We’d finally make it to our destination – Yellowstone, the California Redwoods, the Grand Canyon – and try to capture the majesty of what we were seeing with our Instamatic cameras. The photos never seemed to do it justice.
Conservation photographer Scott Cordner has made it his life’s work to capture the beauty of nature, California and the Pacific Northwest, and to bring his photos to us. He shows us what we’re missing. In a COVID-19 world – stuck in our homes and unable to load up our station wagons for an adventure – Scott brings us a picture postcard that says, “Wish you were here!”
Yes, we’re open! We have temporarily changed our hours to allow for proper sanitizing and reduced staff, but we are excited to welcome you back to the gallery. We’re happy to work with you in the gallery during business hours, by appointment after hours and virtually via telephone, email and text. We look forward to your next project!
Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97219 in the heart of Multnomah Village. Our regular hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm. You can call us at 503-245-8001
It’s First Friday in the Village and, well…nothing is going on. OK, that’s not exactly true. Several Village shops are working by appointment, offering curbside pickup and online ordering. Many Village restaurants are offering meals To Go and delivery options. At Village Frame and Gallery, in addition to browse by appointment and design by appointment, virtual design and curbside pickup, we are pleased to offer our first Window-only show – tiny paintings by Lacy Lowry and mosaics by Denise Sirchie!
Be Where You Are: Botanicals & Landscapes by Lacy Lowry
These 6×6 in paintings are part of a 100-day-project that I began in the spring of 2019 and ended late summer of that year. I chose to work with the theme of botanicals in the spring. This was a new direction for me, away from abstract, and provided new challenges. I found plenty of springtime inspiration walking around the neighborhoods of SW Portland and by more closely studying my favorite houseplants. At other times, I chose to be more playful, creating abstract renditions of these same flora.
Being a plant lover, it was a deeply pleasurable experience to paint botanicals everyday. Lastly, I explored painting landscapes. ThIs was well suited to summertime as I was able to take inspiration from my travels. This project not only pushed me to improve my technical painting skills, but forced me to prioritize daily time in my studio making art.
These works speak directly to my connection with the natural world and to my love of color. I hope that viewers experience some of the pleasure that I felt in creating these paintings. Each flower, each leaf, each field, each mountain, convey in some way the energy and experience of that thing or place. My hope was to capture that feeling as well. Although I have since started on other larger bodies of work, I continue to paint small works as they allow for experimentation with new ideas and remain accessible to others. — Lacy Lowry
Our first ever “Window-only” featured artist show, you can see Lacy’s friendly, colorful paintings in the main display window at Village Frame and Gallery beginning today, First Friday, May 1st, through the end of the month. Priced for gift giving, you can call us at the shop at 503-245-8001 to purchase one or more! And for each painting purchased, Village Frame and Gallery will provide a $10 gift certificate for custom framing!
Spring Mosaics by Denise Sirchie
Returning to Village Frame and Gallery this spring, Denise has brought several new pieces for our main display window – hummingbirds, ravens, and puppers oh my! Read more about Denise and her work here.
Perfect for Mom, you can make an appointment to see them up close in the gallery. Call us at 503-245-8001!
It’s not too late to see pastel paintings by the Dusty Divas!
It’s been a weird couple of months and after a great reception at the beginning of March, our featured artist show, The Dusty Divas, was shut down by the Stay Home, Stay Safe order. Then, attempts to kindle the show online through the month of April were thwarted by technology issues – these ladies can’t get a break!
Here we are at the beginning of May and pastel paintings by The Dusty Divas still hang on our gallery wall. While they are still here, call us to set up an appointment to see the lovely works of Donna Stevens, Donna Sires, Beth Keyser and Kristen Horn.
We’re here and Mother’s Day is just around the corner!
If you haven’t got the gist of it yet – yes, we’re here! Working behind locked doors, we are available by appointment for framing design or if you want to browse the gallery (observing proper social distancing, of course). We have framed and unframed artwork in the gallery, handmade beaded jewelry, ceramics gift certificates and more. Looking for a gift for mom? Check out our “Window-only” featured artist show or give us a call, we’ll be happy unlock the door!
Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97219 in the heart of Multnomah Village. While our showroom is currently closed, we are in the shop most days Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm. Call us at 503-245-8001 to make an appointment.
When the gallery is closed at least through April (you all know why), what do you do for your artists? Those artists that lovingly put together our show for March, The Dusty Divas, and what about our April featured artist? The thought of blank walls in the gallery was just too much to contemplate. So, we put on our big-girl knickers and made some decisions.
We have offered our April artist a featured show in September which she quickly and enthusiastically accepted.
The Dusty Divas show will continue through the end of April!
I can hear you scratching your head right now…How will anyone see the Dusty Diva show if the gallery is closed. Well, I thought of that. In addition to daily feature paintings by the Dusty Divas on our Instagram and FaceBook accounts, I will be sharing one interview a week with a Dusty Diva (there are four) along with some of that Diva’s paintings. And if there is a painting you are interested in viewing and/or purchasing, we offer no-contact appointments. Art finds a way!
Art finds a way!
Dusty Diva Donna Stephens shares her thoughts as we wend our way through unfamiliar waters:
“We are living in interesting times. With the statewide Stay At Home order issued 23 Mar 2020, due to Covid-19, and Multnomah Village retail shops voluntarily changing to appointment-only during the week before the order, Village Frame and Gallery had been effectively closed for half of March.
“Art galleries and art shows are responding to these restrictions in a variety of ways. One way is to extend the dates of a current show. Beth very graciously offered to extend the Dusty Divas show past the original March 28th end date through April and feature our paintings in her April newsletters. The Dusty Divas are very thankful for this and for the opportunities that Beth provides for local artists, whether “emerging” or well-established.
“Another way is to move from a gallery to an online show. The Oregon Society of Artists has changed their April showing of works by the Docents at Portland Art Museum from a gallery show to an online show. In so doing, they had “room” for more paintings and asked the Docents to invite a friend. One of my friends is a Docent and forwarded the invitation to me, creating an opportunity that I would not have had in “normal” times.
“What to show? I had from Saturday to Monday to decide. Could I show four related pieces, recently painted, that are already framed and can be offered for sale?
“One never knows the answer to a question until it is asked. I thought about some viable options for discussion, then I (awkwardly) asked Beth her thoughts on this unique opportunity regarding the four framed paintings that are in the Dusty Divas show… on her wall in her gallery… and in light of her offer to extend and to continue promoting our show…
“For those of you who know Beth and read her newsletters, you know that she is a good neighbor among the Multnomah Village businesses. She lets us know when a new business occupies an available space or when Renner’s re-opened. She has been making frames for me for 5 years, so I suspected that we would be able to negotiate something as a win-win. Not only did Beth whole-heartedly encouraged me to act on this opportunity, she also offered to share a link to the OSA online Docents’ show in her April feature of Dusty Divas works. My paintings are in the Landscape section!
“Best wishes, Donna Stevens”
Serenity by Donna Stephens
OSA Gallery Docent Show and more are going on line!
Thank you, Donna, for your kind words and for information about the Oregon Society of Artists Online Gallery Docent show! You can view the online show here.
There are other online resources to view art, even the great masters! PBS.org has a great article that lists 19 museum exhibits you can view online. These include the Smithsonian Galleries, the Whitney Museum in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and more! Check it out here.
And just now, for the first time, I checked out Google Collections. Google has partnered with some incredible museums to make great works available online. You can search by museum name, location or alphabetically. I’ll be spending a lot of time on this site.
Color Riot, by Cindy Geffel at the Online OSA Gallery Docent show
During these challenging times we appreciate your dedication to local businesses now more than ever. Stay healthy, wash your hands and thank you for your continued support!
Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97219 in the heart of Multnomah Village. While our showroom is currently closed, we are available by appointment Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.
We know picture framing is “non-essential” but, like every small local retailer, your business is absolutely essential as we try to get through what promises to be a most difficult period. Village Frame and Gallery is pleased to offer the following alternative options for custom framing projects:
Curbside Service Have something ready at the gallery now? Call us at 503-245-8001 when you’re in the neighborhood and we’ll bring your completed framing project out to your vehicle. Or you can call us and we’ll pick up your new framing project free!
By Appointment Design Call us at 503-245-8001 to schedule an appointment in the gallery to design the perfect framing for your artwork.
Virtual Concierge Design Drop off your artwork at the gallery or we can pick it up! We’ll develop several framing designs and work with you via email, text or FaceTime to select the perfect framing for your artwork.
Leap into Spring Sale We are extending our Leap into Spring Sale. Through April 30th save 15% off all new custom framing orders!
During these challenging times we appreciate your dedication to local businesses now more than ever. Stay healthy, wash your hands and thank you for your continued support!
Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97219 in the heart of Multnomah Village. While our showroom is currently closed, we are in the shop Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.
I was thinking recently, since I had an extra leap day to do so, about spring. Then again, when we lost an hour springing forward. Not yet having enough coffee to compensate for the lost hour of sleep, I looked up the first day of spring in 2020. Did you know spring arrives early this year?
According to the Old Farmers Almanac website, “For much of the last century, the spring equinox has occurred on March 20 or 21. This year, however, the equinox happens on the 19th in all U.S. time zones, making it the earliest spring we’ll have seen in our lives (so far). The last time spring arrived this early was in 1896—a whopping 124 years ago!”
Nature is leaping early, too! With the mild winter we’ve had things are sprouting all over the garden and so many trees are in bloom. And Village Frame and Gallery is starting our Leap Into Spring Sale early! Beginning Tuesday, March 10th through Saturday, March 21st save a spring worthy 15% on all your new custom framing projects!
Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97219 in the heart of Multnomah Village. Our regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.
Village Frame and Gallery is pleased to present “A Slice of Life,” fine art pastel paintings by the Dusty Divas – local artists Donna Stevens, Kristen Horn, Donna Sires and Beth Keyser. An artist reception is planned for Friday, March 6th at 6 pm. Please join us to see these lovely pastel paintings and meet the artists!
The weather has been mild and we’re all itching to get out. Join us for First Friday for beautiful art, meet the Dusty Divas and grab a snack while you’re in the Village!
Our Framed Art Sale Continues!
Village Frame and Gallery’s entire framed art inventory is on sale now, at our lowest sale prices ever! No longer on the gallery wall, we still have wonderful artwork for sale in the display windows and on the picture rails. We have smaller items tucked away in back, so let us know what you’re looking for and we can check our inventory. We still have a few precious Kaye Synoground holiday pieces at great sale prices.
Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Highway, Portland 97219 in the heart of Multnomah Village. Our regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.
