Bend artists, Vicki Shuck and Janice Druian, travelled to Hood River and beyond to paint a way of life that evokes a romanticized past and perhaps a compromised future. 

Oregon is recognized nationally for its beauty and much of that beauty is found in the remote farming and ranching areas of the Hood River Valley, the Klamath Basin and the Diamond area. Some of the least populated areas in the contiguous United States, the farms and ranches of these areas have been homesteaded for years.

 
Vicki Shuck and Janice Druian painted on site and in their studios to capture the people who work the farms and ranches, and the stunning landscapes of the farming and ranching communities in these three great Eastern Oregon locales. 

Their first showing of this effort  will be at the Columbia Center for The Arts in Hood River (215 Cascade St, Hood River, Oregon) on April 6, 6-8pm.  

As this project has progressed, they both realize that they have only touched the surface of what they want to explore and represent, so they are hoping to spend even more time venturing further east and south in the state.  The open spaces are Druian’s muse, and Shuck, a farmer’s daughter, has a real feeling for the people, the challenges they face and the passion with which they pursue their livelihood.  

www.columbiaarts.org/gallery/2012/04-12/Reflections.html    
www.druianstudios.com