The Gallery at the Watershed

Hello!  After 5 very full, glorious and yes truly challenging months, I am ready to start blogging, deck out the blog, and -- yay -- write again.  So much to tell.  For now, I am saying hello, and letting you know of two wonderful receptions for artists who are showing together this month until September 7.

The reception welcoming beloved Portland artist Jeff White back to Eugene after many years away is tomorrow, Friday, August 9, 7-8:30 pm.  Jeff is a jewel of a man as well as a great artist.  Here is a piece to whet your appetite:

Second, the reception for both Michael Orwick, award-winning Portland-based Plein Air painter, AND his daughter, Elena Grace Orwick, is on Sunday, August 11, 4-5:30 p.m.  Michael's work is stunning, and you need to know this is Elena's FIRST SHOW EVER.  At 9 years old, this only child of a mature and successful painter has been painting all her life, and won our hearts with her work, her color sensitivity, her images and her poise.  Her work is for sale, but we will not be taking any commissions; it is all for college or ice cream or whatever she likes.  Help us welcome a budding artist to her first major exhibit!  This is a true thrill and an honor, for us.

Instead of showing you the works of Family Orwick, I will leave you with Elena's Artist Statement, very special, all her own words:

My name is Elena Grace Orwick. I would say I'm 8 and ¾s but my birthday is 8 days after this show opens, so am I 9?
How was I inspired to paint? My dad always loved to paint, and day after day I would sit and watch as he built his creations – step by step - until it was done. When he was done with a painting, he would always ask me: “What is it?” I always thought it was odd to ask - it obviously was a river, lake, mountains, forest or a sunset…
“I see beauty in everything and everyone."	I would just say what I saw, one by one… and then one day, I thought why does he keep asking me when he knows I know the answer? I thought to myself, everyone sees differently – some might see a blur, stripes, colors or abstract shapes, but I see beauty.
That's it - beauty. I see beauty in everything, everyone. Why do I see everyone's beauty?  Because everyone is special, and that is what inspires me to show and share my art.
Elena lives in Beaverton, OR with her parents, Bulgarian baba (grandma), dog and cat.  In addition to her passion for art, she enjoys music, sports – esp. soccer and basketball, theatre, dancing,travel and exploring the great outdoors. Michael Orwick Jeff White