Tag: Events in Portland

Join us this Saturday at Village Frame & Gallery in Multnomah Village

See watercolorist Scott Johnson paint, learn more about his methods and process, and find out how his paintings get started.

Free, open to the public at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219.

This year, First Friday and Cinco de Mayo fall on the same day — what a great excuse to get out of the house and spend the evening in Multnomah Village! We’re open late and have a brand new show featuring the work of local artist Scott C. Johnson.

About Watercolor Artist Scott Colin Johnson

Although Scott C. Johnson’s landscape studies are rooted in plein air painting, early-on he began to add the little touches that rouse the imagination—the faint treetops that indicate a valley beyond the hill, or the tiny glint of water that tantalizes over a grassy dune. These hints at an unseen landscape beyond the one we see, were an introduction to his dream world.

Scott developed the soft washes of the Japanese tradition, as well as the refined linework of the Persian miniature. As he grew more confident with the brush, he also became more involved in meditational techniques, and the painting became more concerned with recording a process, a trance state, a finding of the happy accident, and less with a specific reality.

He is a developed sensual being, with an appreciation for music, dance and garden design. Scott’s love of nature, refreshed by frequent trips and hikes, is evident in his work, but its mood, often portrayed by impending weather, dominates the objects in the landscape. There are subtle references to change in the clouds and stronger references to death and loneliness in the leafless trees of his latest work, yet the mood is never hopeless, but lets us know that the next season, bringing the tiny leaves of Spring, is just beyond and approaching.

Scott’s work has been exhibited on the west coast since 1986 and is represented in private collections throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.

Artist’s Statement

In the act of painting
it is my intent to express a beauty
my soul yearns to manifest
in imagery of lush colors and
open space.

The images often arrive out of waking or,
quiet [trance like] moments in their entirety.
When I am available to chase them down,
the ceremony of starting blossoms
into a myriad of new directions.
Thus the chase continues
and I will often not know the direction of a painting
until it is over half way done.
Mastering patience of the medium
and perserverance of vision
is the practice I have chosen.

Join us First Friday for the Exhibit Opening and Artist’s Reception

We’re starting at 6 p.m. and everyone is invited. Village Frame and Gallery is located at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219. Can’t make it this Friday? Our exhibits are always open to the public during regular business hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm.

Artist Reception Starts at 6 pm Tonight at Village Frame & Gallery

Subconscious Revelations:  The Art of Spontaneous Collage by Shirona Lurie opened Tuesday. Tonight, meet Shirona and learn more about the intriguing images she creates in collage.

Your Sneak Peek of the Exhibit

All of Shirona’s work is collage, constructed from cut or torn paper, and she has developed two very different, yet complementary series. “Color Meditations” and “Origins.”

Take a look — you can enlarge these images by clicking on them.

More in the Village

As always, our neighborhood shops are open late. Come eat, browse, shop, and meet up with friends in Multnomah Village.

Exhibit Dates: Tuesday, April 4th through Saturday, April 29th

Subconscious Revelations: The Art of Spontaneous Collage is open to the public at Village Frame & Gallery, 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219, Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm. No charge.

Artist Reception: Friday, April 7th, 6:00-7:30 pm

Come meet Shirona and see her intriguing collage work in person on First Friday. (Click images below to enlarge.)

About the Artist: Shirona Lurie

What strikes one immediately upon looking at Shirona’s art is its stunning beauty. This is a rare thing. We are bombarded with images that are intended to be ironic, cynical, or that even celebrate ugliness, and so we have lost much of the power of beauty. But for thousands of years, the primary purpose of art was to elevate the human heart and spirit by showing us images of transcendent beauty. Through the contemplation of these images we glimpse a reality that is higher and truer than the mundane existence to which we can all too easily succumb. Beauty deeply moves us because it is ego-less; it is a servant that seeks only to discover and transmit. In this way, the experience of beauty is a spiritual encounter. This is exactly what one feels when looking at Shirona’s art.

All of Shirona’s work is collage, constructed from cut or torn paper, and she has developed two very different, yet complementary series. Her “Color Mediations” series are composed of carefully arranged squares of subtle and saturated colors. The rigor of the format focuses attention on the subtle relationship where edge meets edge, and reveals the beautiful sensuality of color itself. These glow with an inner light that seems to shine through the paper, sometimes pulsating, sometimes gently shimmering, and then dissolving back into the deep. Like Buddhist mandalas, these are images of contemplation and revelation.

Her “Origins” series, though also collages, break free from any formal constraints. They are made from dense layers of torn or cut paper, and at times use recognizable images: bodies, faces, flowers, rocks, and water. These works seem both mythic and monumental, as through we are witnessing primordial acts from hidden realms. The imagery in these is not literal or cerebral, but is intuitive and sensual. In one we sense a feminine sexuality bursting forth in an orgasmic flow of creation. In another we come through an opening, as though from one state of consciousness to the next. And in another we see what may be the formation of essential energies that seem to come from the beginning of time.

In both series, Shirona’s art is informed by a sense of reverence and seriousness in her craft. And all, unfailingly, come through Shirona’s ever-present eye for beauty.

This month, Village Frame & Gallery is featuring the artwork of the seven talented Bridge City Artists! Plus, we are hosting a trunk show of Amerinda Alpern’s jewelry. 

Artists’ Reception – Bridge City Artists at Village Frame & Gallery

Friday, November 4th, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Trunk Show – Amerinda Alpern at Village Frame & Gallery

Friday, Nov 4th, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Saturday, Nov 5th, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Meet the Bridge City Artists

Marlie Ranslam

I was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. After attending the University of Wisconsin, I spent four years living in Germany, traveling Europe and seeing art I had previously only read about. It was during this time that my interest in art and architecture became immediate and alive– and I began painting. I was hooked! When returning to the States, my curiosity about art and art history continued and led to Portland State University, bachelors and masters degrees, followed by post- graduate classes at Pacific Northwest College of Art. Throughout a 20 year practice in psychotherapy, art was a constant presence. At this time, still curious and inspired, I’m painting full-time and remain involved in art community.

Karen Story

Painting with encaustic and cold wax medium (pigmented beeswax) is my foremost means of expression of emotions, experiences, images, and interactions with others as well as nature.

The encaustic medium is process-oriented. Much time is dedicated to heating, scraping, layering, preparing the substrate, and mixing medium. The painting construct of revealing, covering and re-revealing with an often surprising and different consequence. The fluid nature of the encaustic process lends itself to exploration of forms and patterns which combine structured and unstructured shapes. The medium allows the application of translucent and opaque layers, building a complex and varied underpainting. The process demands flexibility, using a heating process which accounts for unexpected changes in composition, form, and color.

Other than relationships with people (hence the focus on figural work), water is my life’s common recurring theme. It has appeared in vivid dreams since childhood, and in my adult reality it rules my life as I swim, kayak, snorkel, boat, do underwater photography, and live part-time on 2 islands. Water is a challenging element to capture artistically, since it istranslucent / transparent / reflective. Its ever-changing nature distorts elements within and reflects elements without. The translucence of encaustic wax lends itself admirably to this element.

My paintings reflect my connection to water as well as the figure. My two recurring themes. Color, shape, form, value, texture, and line work together to achieve the depiction of both, using the demanding medium of encaustic and cold wax.

Eileen “ikie” Nolan Kressel

I’ve delighted in creating art in one form or another, since my drawings-on-the-wall at home in Brooklyn at age five. The wall was blank and I had something to say. I may not be far from that, these many years later.

Art is a good and constant friend, a place to be, providing a voice that gives expression to relationships, challenges, joys, whimsies and sadness. To not create, would be to silence a part of me.

My portfolio includes whimsical paintings and linocuts, along with black and white etchings. I’m fortunate in being part of No. 2 Print Shop in Portland, Oregon where printmakers share ideas, inspiration, perspiration and presses.

Kay Henning Danley

My work is multilayered, beginning with a freely painted drawing, each layer of transparent paint and collage paper shape informing the next, even when the earlier layers are ultimately painted over and become visual history. I attempt to leave the marks of the initial drawing, as well as the transparent visual history as part of the surface. This layering creates luminosity and richness. This allows my understanding of the image to evolve — it is a dance between the additive and subtractive elements.

I like the physicality of paint, the tools that apply it, and the energy necessary to apply it to the surface. My work is a personal interpretation expressed through imagery. I seek to create a work that is intriguing, enables a viewer to make discoveries with each viewing, and to ponder meaning and connection to their personal world.

Helaine Hart

The Kemet/Deshret series of paintings emerged after six trips to Egypt. I was intrigued by the obsession of the ancient Egyptians with duality. Their dualistic perspective emerged in their view of the universe, their religion, the concept of Upper and Lower Egypt, and the nature of their land as Kemet, the rich, fertile border of the Mother Nile, and Deshret, the barren desert beyond. The paintings in this series reflect my meditations on the starkly dualistic beauty and profound influence of the land of Kemet and Deshret.

Surrealists and Abstract Expressionists used psychic automatism, a type of automatic drawing, to evoke pure, visual essence from their subconscious minds. I have appropriated and modified their method in my own work. My paintings often begin by pouring color and making marks on a pigmented and textured ground. I allow the emerging shapes and overlaps of color to urge my subconscious to participate in and respond to the serendipitous interaction of gravity, atmosphere, absorption, manipulation, and the addition of other media. In this manner, my paintings seek a balance between accident and intention. My non-objective, mixed media pieces are created with a variety of materials, including acrylic paints and gels, metal leaf, Japanese papers, fabric, dry pigments, and plaster to enhance visual impact and to create unique textures. In my work I use color, texture, rhythm, transparency, and luminosity seeking to express that which is ephemeral, profound, and universal.

Karrie Kaiyala Amiton

I am a painter in Portland, Oregon and growing up in a musical family exposed me to the arts as a way of life. My work has the look and unmistakable color of the northwest. I am heavily influenced by my many years spent on the east side of the Cascades where the sky is blue and the land is golden. I am not as interested in realism as I am in creating an emotional response through color. Although I paint from memory, it is a thrill to have someone look at one of my paintings and tell me they know the exact location.

Recently I have been working on a body of work called “The Space We Share”, a nod to the accomplishments of astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly and the exploration and wonder outside our world. This series has a different style and message so it has been fun for me to experiment with mixed media and sumi ink.

When I am not painting I am usually thinking about it, the wonderful artists I’ve met along the way and the anticipation of creative times ahead.

Dianne Jean Erickson

I am a painter and printmaker. I allow myself the freedom of indecisions, improvisations, and impulsiveness in my work, and that leads to exciting discoveries. I have worked extensively in acrylics and oils. My most recent medium is encaustic and its very different technique of painting with wax and heat. This medium has given me a new way to explore my art.

I am interested in line, color and how movement is portrayed in a two dimensional space. Process is an important part of the work. I make my own medium and pigmented wax. The texture and translucency possible with this medium has allowed me new explorations. While working on the substrate and exploring color and design, a conversation begins to form between myself and the creative act as it happens in real time. Images form and transform as I work, sometimes figurative, sometimes non-objective or abstract. When the piece is done, hopefully the conversation has led to a work of art that is both personal and universal in nature.

Jeweler Amerinda Alpern

Artist’s Statement

Inspired by the beauty of the northwest, this jewelry collection features my interpretations of plants I found growing in Portland Oregon coupled with nature’s geometry and reduced to classic mid-century shapes and designs. I am fascinated with how nature grows, whether it’s the slight difference between leaves on a tree or the subtle variations in the human form. Geometry continues to hold my visual and emotional attention.

About Amerinda Alpern

Amerinda Alpern holds a MFA in Sculpture from Colorado State University and a BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts. She also trained with Alan Revere, founder of the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts.

Jewelry by Amerinda Alpern

October 7th, Gene Flores returns to Village Frame & Gallery with new, original works.

If you loved what you saw last year, join us Friday night, starting at 6 p.m. for the exhibit opening.

Artist’s Bio – Gene Flores

I was born and raised in El Paso,Texas, have a BFA from the University of Texas El Paso, and MA and MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa were I graduated with honors.  I am currently the Dean of the Visual and Performing Arts and Design Division at Portland Community College Sylvania Campus in Portland, Oregon.

I  began my printmaking journey in 1987 and have been making and exhibiting my prints since.  I  venture from black and white imagery to full color printing, all my works are hand wiped and printed.  These are all original prints, that is to say they are not photocopied nor mass produced.  I print a limited edition usually 10-15 prints per edition.  Each edition is unique.

My works are self portraits and are influenced by literature, music, politics, religion and everyday activities.  My images have been described as humorous, insightful, and disturbing.  Viewers often find my works to be thought provoking and challenging. I enjoy challenging the viewer and the preconceived notions of what we take for granted. My works allow the viewer to immerse themselves into another world with reoccurring characters that tiptoe between the surreal and the absurd, a world where anything can and often does happen.

Here’s a Sneak Peek of the New Exhibit

Also in the Gallery During October: Ceramics by local artist Carson Culp

See you First Friday: October 7, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Village Frame & Gallery, 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219, or any time in October during regular business hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm. As always, our exhibits are free and open to the public.