“Pixels to Pigments”, Helen Brown’s November show at Tumalo Art Co. features watercolors illustrating how one artist interprets the vision of another artist—a photographer. The show opens during Bend’s First Friday Gallery Walk, November 1, from 4-8pm.
For her November exhibit, Helen has asked her collectors, friends and family to submit their favorite photos to her to serve as reference for her watercolors. She asked them, “Do you have a photo you would like me to paint?” Unlike commission work, the photographers are not obligated to purchase the work, just to come and observe her interpretations. “I thought it would be fun to involve other people in the process,” Brown explained.
Of the 200 people she asked, 55 of them responded with at least one photo, in some cases up to ten. In the end, there were over 150 photographs to choose from. “I was overwhelmed, but excited to choose and get started painting! It became apparent to me that what one person sees in a photo may be completely different from what another may see. I cropped, colored, combined and invented things in order to make the work mine.”
Helen works in a process she calls watercolor batik, using wax and layering color to create the lively paintings that she is known for. Painting on rice paper the image takes on even further texture.
An active member of Tumalo Art Co. Helen is a gallerist, sitting the gallery for two and a half days a month. She is also a member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon , winning 5th place, the Willamette Valley Region Award at the 2019 Fall Watercolor Exhibition and the High Desert Art League.
Paint loosely rendered, splashy watercolors of vibrant Rovinj, Croatia, with instructor Sarah B Hansen in May 29-June 5, 2025, with a focus on capturing the expression of daily life and views of
David Kinker recently finished a mural that brightens up this wall at Florida and Hill Street, the future home of a community based business, and some eateries like Fat Toneys Pizza.