"Free Range II", acrylic on canvas w/ museum-wrapped sides, 12 x 12

For our February show at Tumalo Art Co. in Bend, Oregon all of the artists in the collective painted things they are passionate about. As an exercise, because I hadn’t painted much since finishing my latest very large painting, “Into the Mystic” for the show at Black Butte Ranch, I wanted to do something different, which for me is often a still life. One of the Tumalo Art Co. artists, Danae Bennett Miller, (who I am having a show with in April!) raises chickens with her son on their ranch. They bring eggs from their (very) free-range hens to our First Friday Gallery Walk openings every month which are eagerly snatched up. They have absolutely beautiful colors—delicate tans, browns and blues…sometimes with speckles. As I was getting ready to make our traditional Christmas breakfast dish I found I couldn’t crack these two eggs. So I put them in a little dish and placed them on the vintage tablecloth to take some photos. The resulting tiny still life presented the perfect challenge for painting something I’m passionate about. In this case—pattern and color…

I have been showing the process of this painting from the first few marks to finished piece on facebook….so, friend me on facebook to see that album….

"Into the Mystic", 4' x 5' acrylic on canvas w/ museum wrapped painted 2.5" sides

"Blossomland", 48 x 36 Acrylic on canvas

I just recently completed this large painting on canvas for Silver Cross Hospital in Illinois through American Art Resources in Houston, Texas. I originally connected with AAR when they sent out a call for art for Sacred Heart/RiverBend Hospital in Springfield, Oregon, my hometown. So, it was great to be called upon for this new commission.

"Late Winter Aspen" Progression

Sometimes it’s interesting to see the progression of a painting. I build-up color, continuing to layer until a painting feels finished. The initial painting session, for me, is just about getting something on the canvas. Once I’ve leaped that hurdle I am compelled to keep going. “Just begin” is my mantra as I drag my unwilling body into the studio and work to overcome inertia. I always prime my canvases with the complimentary color to what I think will be the predominating color of the final piece. Since I paint nature that color is often in the green and blue range, so my under-painting is red or orange. Though most of this color is covered up, twinkles of it show through in the final that give the art life.

“Late Winter Aspen” is a 40 x 30 acrylic that is in my September show at Tumalo Art Co. in Bend, Oregon. It is also a great painting for a large space—residential or corporate—and will be offered as a giclee limited edition reproduction.

I am privileged to have been invited to paint the setting for this event for the past four years. The process starts in the early spring, long before the rich growth and color of full-on summer. So, I use lots of artistic license, photographing the area when spring has barely arrived to nail down the composition and adding the fullness of summer.

This image of the Metolius meadow was well received and I offer a giclee print, sized proportionately to the art to fit your space, printed on paper or canvas. Contact me for an estimate!

Janice Druian and Susan Luckey Higdon have created a show entitled Light Play opening at Tumalo Art Co. in Bend, Oregon, during the First Friday Gallery Walk, September 2, from 5-9 pm. Both artists explore the effect of light on the landscape.

Using acrylic and soft pastels Luckey Higdon’s interest in “natural abstractions” has led her to paint the effect of light on two otherwise non-descript aspens, interpreting layers of pattern upon pattern with color and value.

Druian’s newest works in oil, are full of rich, warm light, and evocative of the Tonalist painters’ work from the late 1800’s and early 20th century. This style of painting emphasizes atmosphere and shadow —the “golden hour” which is the first or last hour of sunlight each day.“

Tumalo Art Co. is an artist-run gallery in the heart of the Old Mill District, in Bend, Oregon. I am a member of this wonderful collective. Be sure to come in when in Central Oregon!

"Primal Call" soft pastel at new home

Recently the new owner of my soft pastel painting “Primal Call” sent me a photo showing the art in it’s permanent home. It was so exciting to see how the art, which is a painting I’m very proud of, looked in their home.

“Primal Call” depicts the wonderful colors of spawning kokanee in a crystal clear stream. The reason it was such a joy to paint was the pattern or color and light created by this natural phenomenon of spawning fish. And it brought back all of the sights and sounds of the day I saw the fish and photographed them to paint from.

I’m so grateful when a painting becomes a well-loved part of a collectors world. Thanks for sharing!

"Soft Morning at Smith Rocks"

I love the juxtaposition of these contented cows in a pasture in front of the majestic rocks formations at Smith Rocks in Terreboone, Oregon. This area is before you get into the park and it’s surrounded by farmland. The mellow light of morning gives the rock a pearly look. This is a medium sized soft pastel painting. See it on the Landscape page.