(Left: Self Portrait, graphite on paper by Emma Carpenter. Right: The Hen House, acrylic on paper by Vivian Olsen)
Art in the Atrium, Franklin Crossing, invites the public to an exhibition featuring paintings of Emma Carpenter of Bend, Vivian Olsen of Bend and Barbara Slater of Portland, continuing through October 31, 2020. The gallery returns to previous business hours of 7am-7pm. First Friday, however, was not presented on October 2 due to the commitment to social distancing.
Artist Emma Carpenter, a high school sophomore, presents her first gallery exhibit with artwork created in the past two years. Working in her favorite digital medium as well as graphite, Carpenter has had only two formal art classes, both through the public school. With a high GPA, she now participates in Advanced Placement and honor classes and receives college credits.
When asked what inspires her art, she said: “Music is what inspires me when I’m drawing — it can all change tones, and it fits into unique artwork. Different moods to each song create different moods to each piece.” She notes, “Drawing takes me into my comfort zone, I feel I have the freedom to create my own world. After high school, I will be going to college to be a chemist, but my art will continue to be a large presence in my life. I will continue to escape into it.” (emma-carpenter.com)
Artist Vivian Olsen continues to create and exhibit her recognized and award winning paintings of birds and other wildlife. The images also depict backgrounds common to the animals’ natural habitats. She recently completed and published The Good, the Bad and the Goofy, a collection of stories and detailed, colorful paintings of animals in action.
Olson also notes a new direction in her art, “While being confined to home in recent months, I’ve taken on new subjects — abstract paintings. An enjoyable change, I can play, make mistakes and correct them with ease since there are no rules. My first abstract painting, The Hen House, started with cubes of many colors, big ones, little ones and finally some lines giving movement. I decided to kick it up a bit by tipping the forms and interrupting the formulaic look. To me, it looked like a crazy mass of chicken coops, so, of course, I added chickens and finally, their nemesis, the fox.
Other abstract paintings have followed, “with more tippy cubes morphing into, ‘Sun Blocks.’ From there I played with free-forms and swirls of color to finally emerge with ‘Water, Water Everywhere.’ I like what’s happening and I’ll follow this game for a while.”
Barbara Slater, painting in oil, exhibits vivid floral images as well as charming animal portraits. Floral imagery, often painted in large scale, has long been a preferred subject of the artist, and excellence in that genre garnered her prestigious awards.
An award-winning artist and member of Oil Painters of America, Slater also employs this technique in her endearing paintings of barnyard animals and wildlife. The artist exhibits memorable animal portraits of a fox, a thoroughbred horse and a proud rooster as well as other animal images. She notes her study of the eyes of animals to capture their personalities and her paintings reveal not only that careful observation but her affection and respect for her subjects.
The artist notes, “I paint what I love, striving to paint passionate paintings… not just workable paintings. I have a heart-felt connection to my work.” Her life-like images portray not only warmth and admiration, but her considerable ability as well.
Billye Turner curates exhibitions for Franklin Crossing; for information or purchase, please contact her at billyeturner@bendnet.com or 503-780-2828.