Artists

David Andersen was born in Sacramento, CA. He received his undergraduate degree in ceramics from the University of California, Davis, CA., and an MFA from the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. His art was always socially charged - a stream of consciousness narrative where he told a story by combining loosely related ideas, components and language. His pieces are both familiar/ambiguous, humorous/serious. His intent was to create work that moved viewers to question, ponder and sometimes chuckle. David passed away in Salem, OR, in 2017.

Melanie Weston was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. She received a BFA from Cornish College, Seattle, WA and a MFA from the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. She worked at The Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, Oregon for 12 years before opening the gallery Salem on the Edge. Weston’s mixed media work is about story telling with imagery and words. One cannot exist without the other. She has always worked in an intuitive manner putting her emotions on paper.

Sarah Sedwick was born in Cleveland, and has lived in Eugene, Oregon since 2007. In 2001, she earned a BFA from Maryland Institute, College of Art, where she studied illustration, painting, and art history. A dedicated teacher, Sarah conducts workshops on both still life and portrait painting around the US and Europe. Her paintings on view at Salem on the Edge are a part of an exploration of the way we create meaning with the objects that surround us. All are painted from life - from direct observation of a still life created and lit in the artist's studio.

Paul Meuse was raised in Medford, Oregon, where he spent a considerable part of his childhood drawing and painting. His academic background is in political science and public policy, receiving a B.A. in Politics from Willamette University and a M.P.P. from Oregon State University. As a self-taught artist, Paul returned to art in 2013, concentrating on portraiture and pop art. His work over the past two years has moved from pop realism to abstraction, with a focus on creativity of process and use of materials. “Art has become more personal to me over the past few years, less about choosing what I wanted to make and more about doing something I needed to do.

Aron Michael Johnston is an oil painter working in the traditional style of realism. When creating an oil painting Aron’s ultimate goal is to reveal the beauty in his chosen subject, be it a seemingly mundane still life, a fiery sunset, or the visage of a portrait subject. With an eye for detail and a dedication to fine craftsmanship Aron creates memorable pieces that speak to the beauty of the everyday as well as the challenges facing contemporary society. 

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." 

 Zachary McRae was born in Plant City, Florida. He is self-taught and uses intuitive, automatic processes to generate large-scale abstract oil and acrylic paintings. Compelled to make art from an early age, it wasn’t until after suffering through a minor traumatic brain injury in 2014 that he began to take his creative passion more seriously. “I consider the act of painting sacred, and give my work ample time to develop, layering and scrutinizing each aspect as it arises. My paintings are containers for the experiences that I have in the studio. They represent the fused workings of my mind and body during the weeks, months and years that I spend producing them.” 

Dayna Collins is an energetic and enthusiastic abstract painter. She loves experimenting with texture, layers, and color, likening her paintings to going on an archaeological dig. Dayna is also a mixed media artist and an avid collector/junker, energized by hunting for materials to use in her found object assemblage art or in her Salvage Collages. She hyperventilates when she discovers a rusty piece of metal or a tattered, disintegrating book. Dayna uses these tired, worn out objects to create vignettes that tell a new story. 

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.

 Katia was born and raised in Russia, came to the United States in 2008 and lives in Lincoln City, Oregon. She showed a keen interest in visual arts and started drawing and painting at an early age. Though primarily self-taught, she has participated in various workshops led by prominent painters. She takes a direct approach to painting and leans toward the abstract. Katia pursues her painting with zest, boldness, passion and sincerity. Her paintings are full of color, shape, light and energy. Katia believes that saying less is more powerful. 

Rebecca Mannheimer graduated from PNCA with a BFA degree in painting and drawing. She now lives in Eugene where she paints in her home studio with a view of the Coburg Hills. The content of her work is about a narrative. A narrative that comes from a personal history that she explores and redefines as she moves onto the next body of work. Some of her most recent work focuses on rich abstractions in acrylic on canvas, with a subtle reference to the Willamette Valley and the hills of Portland. Rebecca defines her work as an internal landscape, with the  belief that all of our experiences are somehow embedded inside us. Some come to the surface while others are obscure and remain underground or below the surface. She uses symbols and metaphors to convey the ideas behind her pieces, taking from a collection of objects and shapes that come from a personal reference or experience. 

 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”.

Monte was born and raised in Salem. She received her B.S. at Western Oregon State University, Monmouth, Oregon and her M.F.A. at Washington State University, Pullman, WA. “My painting represents a paradox in light and shadow, fire and water, cold and hot, life and death. I am concerned with energies that illuminate and emanate in the natural world. My imagery is a fusion of observation and imagination. The light in the paintings represents energy that emanates out from the center of the canvas. Light and energy are the ground in my painting. 

 Seth is a painter, actor, writer and director. Originally from California, he has made Salem his home and is truly immersed in local arts! When you view his large-scale abstract paintings they may seem simplistic, but you fall into the colors and find imagery that you may not have seen at first glance. “The last few years have been a kaleidoscope of feelings, stories, emotions, victories and defeats. I wanted to explore the tension between these with colors and shapes on canvas. I’ve tried to capture the depth of these stories and tensions with layering and scraping of paint and lines that we want to be straight and solid, but are not. Sometimes we find that the foundation is cracked.”

Sarah was born and raised in Maryland and Pennsylvania. She has been a resident of Eugene, Oregon, for over 20 years. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a BA in Fine Art. Sarah is primarily an oil painter working in a highly detailed, classical realist style, with a focus on still life painting. The interaction and relationship between humankind and the natural world is an ongoing theme in her works and she often chooses non-traditional, curious, and unexpected subjects for her paintings.

Heather moved to Eugene, Oregon, six years ago from Washington, DC. She is a contemporary painter, and painting is a expressive and cathartic process for her. “I paint from memory, starting with no preconceived notion of what the work will become. I listen to my intuition and let the surfaces emerge. My thoughts are often of the patinas that arise with age, the gradual change in the color and texture and structure of all things over time. The Oregon landscapes, seascapes, and cloudscapes have been an immense inspiration.”

 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.” 

 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. 

  Bryan Hobein was born in West Alton, Missouri. He received a BFA in illustration from the Memphis College of Art in 2019. Upon taking a watercolor class in 2018 he shifted from a focus on mostly digital illustration towards more traditional watercolors. The change in medium and style allowed him to explore concepts new to his work. His paintings center around the ideas of sexuality, comfort, stillness and how they’re contained and expressed in the male form. “I find the gentle, muted tones and delicateness of watercolor lends itself to capturing these moments of male sexuality, comfort and quietness in the body."

Heather moved to Eugene, Oregon, six years ago from Washington, DC. She is a contemporary painter, and painting is a expressive and cathartic process for her. “I paint from memory, starting with no preconceived notion of what the work will become. I listen to my intuition and let the surfaces emerge. My thoughts are often of the patinas that arise with age, the gradual change in the color and texture and structure of all things over time. The Oregon landscapes, seascapes, and cloudscapes have been an immense inspiration.”

   Matthew Dennison was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and has lived within the same five mile radius his entire life. When not in Portland he spends time at his beach house on the Northern Oregon Coast where he has a small studio. Matthew’s paintings are generally narrative scenes that often include dignified portraits of animals, which exude a palpable spark of intelligence. These strange, endearing characters are an extension of his love for the beauty in imperfection, a wonderfully skewed reimagining of a contemporary ideal. His influences include the Pacific Northwest and its environment and news from around the world. He has a self-imposed discipline of drawing everyday and writing poems. These rituals contribute to his paintings. 

Aimee O’Will was born in Hillsboro, OR, and never imagined being anything other than an artist. From her early days of crayon on drywall into her early adulthood of studying Graphic Arts at Portland State University and now as a professional designer, she is constantly driven to develop her artistic skill. Aimee’s work is a blend of formal graphic design training and a lifetime of experimentation with materials, mediums and subject matter. She enjoys incorporating references to mythology and symbolism within her work and finds tremendous joy in compelling people to take another look. 

 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.”