Artists

Michael Orwick was born in Astoria, Oregon. He received a BFA in illustration at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR in 2000. He cannot separate his art from his love of the Pacific Northwest. The coast, mountains, and meadows, each infused with mysterious light and atmosphere, weave narratives into their settings. “As a painter, the effects of light and atmosphere are what I remember about a location and what inspires me most. Light transforms the ordinary or even beautiful into the exceptional. My quest is to capture these fleeting moments and help people see things again through new eyes.”

Daemion Lee grew up in a small town on the southern Oregon coast, where he developed an early appreciation for landscapes. Long interested in drawing, he found renewed inspiration on a sketching trip through the spare landscapes of the Southwest. A watercolor course he took in 2015 introduced him to landscape watercolor painting, which he views as both close observation of the natural world and an expression of inner feelings. He particularly enjoys the spontaneity and simplicity of the watercolor medium. His paintings explore his own movements through the local landscape as well as his place in the universe. 

 Margaret Plumb grew up in Mt. Angel, Oregon and currently resides near Eugene. She studied art at Lane Community College and Chemeketa College and was heavily influenced by the French Impressionists, primarily Pissarro and Cezanne, Post-impressionism, Fauvism, and the incredible work of the early 20th century California Impressionist Movement. Margaret is known for her vivid, saturated palette and her bold and expressive brushwork. Working both en plein air and in the studio, she focuses on impressionistic representation of the forms, colors, and shapes she sees in nature. Margaret has painted almost exclusively in acrylics for the last few years "because they're a versatile medium, with the capabilities of both watercolor and oil, and their quick-drying abilities accommodate my klutzy tendencies." 

Shoki Tanabe was born in Tokyo and, at four months old, was brought to Salem by his parents, and in Salem he grew and learned and ran in the rain and the sun. He received his undergraduate degree in painting and writing from Willamette University in 2008. His interest in art developed at a young age when he began flipping through various art books of his mother’s, who majored in Art History at the same university. His work tends towards the allegorical in content, while experimenting with color, layering, and texture to convey form.

   Stephen Hinton, a Portland-based artist, creates bold fantasies combining humor with dark twists. Using acrylic paint, Stephen combines his love of pop culture, anime and comic books to bring to life imaginative worlds of cartoon-faced demons. The use of demonic imagery is tongue in cheek, used as a vessel for story telling, but in no way is indicative of a belief in the occult. He believes red is the most provocative color, and so applies it predominantly through out his work to draw the viewer in for a more intimate look.

 Robin is a New Zealander now living in Portland. She is a self taught abstract artist working in a variety of mediums. Her work is a reflection of everyday experiences including the fact that she is an immigrant. “Being an immigrant means, no matter which home you are in, you are slightly apart, always observing, and I think my art reflects that”.

 Patrice Cameron was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. A self-taught artist, Patrice worked in watercolor for years, but in 2021 she wanted a new artistic challenge and began painting with acrylics on canvas. She is a painter of rivers, “the higher the elevation, the more exciting the river flows. I enjoy strong rocky compositions combined with soft, swirling, watery shapes. This inspires me to study and capture the moment, then paint its essence.” 

 Ron Conrad is a self-taught sculptor and painter living in Salem, Oregon. He creates kinetic sculptures that contemplate the relationships between people, movement, and time, and his paintings explore the connections and disconnections people have with themselves and their dreams. Ron says of his creative process: “I try to visualize how people view the world and themselves from their unique perspective with a sense of irony and humor. I am guided by my conscious thoughts and allow myself to be influenced by subconscious thoughts. I only consider a work finished when it speaks to me and brings me pleasure.”

 Lisa Laser was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but had lived in New Jersey, Idaho, Washington, Hawaii, and Oregon by the time she turned 17. Her many adventures led to an appreciation of proper bagels, soft pretzels, trees, the ocean, and packing light. Lisa paints with both oil and acrylic and also works with old magazines, books, and sewing patterns. She often incorporates snippets of text, enjoying taking words out of context. Lisa’s work is part planning and part intuition. Her pieces have multiple layers, using sandpaper and scraping tools to reveal bits of what’s below. She is inspired by our natural world as well as popular culture, politics, and our emotional messiness. Whether she is painting crows, hummingbirds, or humans, Lisa’s work reflects her love of color, light, and humor. 

    Jennifer Foran was born and raised in Pennsylvania. She spontaneously moved to Portland, Oregon in 1999. Inspired by the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, she began to create landscapes on wood that combined her drawing and painting experience with her love of trees. Her process begins by observing the patterns found in the wood grain. Determining which parts of the grain, often looked at as threads or paths, will be exposed and how they will be woven into the landscape as water, sky, mountains or wind. Their presence represents change. The trees play an important role in the piece. Almost like actors on a stage they are carefully situated in the landscape as an anchor; constant. She combines colored layers of stain and acrylic with wood burned details that wrap around the sides of the painting to reflect a cycle or continuum. The intention of the final piece is to not only capture a memory or evoke a feeling, but to create comfort with what is familiar and curiosity with the unknown. When people see her art she wants them to discover the cycles within nature; the soft-spoken reminder that everything is connected; a balance of give and take.

 Chelsea Beaudrie “I have spent most of my life with the feeling of ‘holding back’-staying confined within the lines, worrying about making the right ‘mark’ in the world and being a “caregiver” to those surrounding me. My discovery of painting in the summer of 2020 released those preconceived notions and defining lines. My work is unintentional in design and content. Symbols, iconography, and motifs may unintentionally arise though they are dependent on what is weighing on my mind, heart and is transcribed through the medium. The process, how my work transpires, is strongly related to my cultural, personal background, identity, and day-to-day experiences both locally and globally. It is my unrelenting release, challenging the social norms, and use of layers, texture, and vivid colors is my unapologetic voice. Each painting speaks an untold story, providing the viewer with varying dimensions for individual interpretation.” 

   Jim Hockenhull: "I see artists as makers of analogies: this is like that in some ways, not in others. The more easily the analogy is understood, the more accessible the art becomes until it becomes banal. The more difficult the analogy the more obscure the art, the more is required of the viewer. 

When the analogy is understood by only one person, we call him crazy. I look for the sweet spot somewhere in

between banal and crazy.

To that end, I call on the generative power of procedure, on outsider art, on the profound arts of other cultures.

I’ve been helped along the way by certain Eastern philosophies, and by so many wonderful artists who have influenced my path.

True Facts:

Born in Wheaton, IL

BFA in Sculpture – University of Illinois

MFA in Sculpture– University of Iowa

Married Jo Mannino, painter and printmaker, with whom I live in Salem."

Eric's interdisciplinary approach utilizes the skills, disciplines and experiences he developed in his time in the U.S. Army, while exploring the freedom of creativity that being an Intermedia Artist affords. He starts each new artwork or project by going through his archives of images, documents, mementos, or memories accumulated throughout his life. Using those experiences and reconstructed memories, he creates either new objects or new presentations of existing objects as key elements in the artwork. By using his own experiences and memories as the foundation, he strives to build bridges between himself and an audience, trying to leave room for the audience to come to their own conclusions on the meaning of the work.

Anna Davis is a multimedia digital artist and photographer residing in Salem. She explores themes of femininity, sexuality, queerness, and motherhood within cultural and societal contexts, viewing art as both a way of life and a vehicle for social justice. She holds an MFA in Digital Art from Washington State University and a BFA in Intermedia Art from Western New Mexico University, and is deeply involved in the local arts scene. She organizes the Salem Art Fair with the Salem Art Association and serves on the board of Artists in Action. Additionally, she teaches digital art and drawing at Chemeketa Community College and Western Oregon University.

In her studio practice, Anna merges traditional craft and analog practices with cutting-edge software and technology, like AI technology and generative code. 

Despite her exploration of every possible medium, film photography remains Anna’s first love. In an age dominated by AI and digital algorithms, the uncontrollable elements of film and darkroom photography particularly appeal to her, offering a sense of unpredictability and authenticity that are a vital component to her work.