2018 Winter Art for Bend’s Old Mill District

“Old Mill District Waxwings”, is painted with acrylic on canvas and is by Susan Luckey Higdon

Almost a year ago the Old Mill District in Bend, Oregon asked me to create the art for their annual Winter branding. It was a huge honor to be asked and I knew that the art would be used from mid-November through the winter in all of their marketing efforts. So, the pressure was on to come up with something different than had been done before, and that could be both very small for the Christmas ornament they send to 1,000 friends and very large for billboards and banners lining Bond Street which winds around the Old Mill District.

The 2018 Winter Art by Susan Luckey Higdon on banners in Bend Oregon’s Old Mill District.

Through the winter and spring I researched and solidified ideas. I wanted the image to fulfill all of their needs but also be true to my artistic style, which is strong, somewhat compressed composition and bold colors. So, rather than showing a panoramic of the area I focused in on the iconic smokestacks from the vantage point of below a tree. And, because there is lots of wildlife in the urbanized area right by the river, I wanted to show a bird or animal. Initially I considered a Red-Winged Black Bird because of its bold color, but had also seen the Waxwings noisily filling up trees in the winter. Slowly some ideas came together and in early June a design was chosen. I was painting the bright blue of winter sky with fresh snow and Waxwings in a Hawthorne tree, in at the height of summer. Anyone who has produced seasonal artwork or advertising knows this drill.

Now the art is being used in all of its formats and I get to see it as I drive to Tumalo Art Co., my art gallery in the Old Mill District daily! Pretty cool.

The original art is hanging at Tumalo Art Co. through December and will then join the Old Mill Districts growing art collection.

 

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Susan Luckey Higdon

Susan Luckey Higdon makes fine art in Central Oregon that reflects the natural beauty all around her. She paints landscapes, native fish in their underwater habitats and bird life. Painting large whenever possible her work is semi-abstracted using composition, loosely impressionistic and colorful.