September—Improv: Dee McBrien-Lee

Above: Turquoise Trees, Mixed Media

Opens at Tumalo Art Co. September 6, from 3-7pm during the Old Mill District First Friday Art Walk
featuring new abstract paintings by Dee McBrien-Lee.

Filled with inspiration after an annual sojourn to the southwest, and very moved by the color, Dee decided
to create a show with color as her starting point leaving the balance of the process open for improvisation.
The entire process was very organic and freeing for the artist who works in acrylic and mixed media plus any materials
that come to hand that create texture and pattern.

The artist explains her process for this unique exhibit of abstract paintings:

“Originally I had not planned to do a show in 2024 but when the slot for September stayed open, I jumped in without a clear direction for the work.”

“My husband and I travel through the southwest each year and this spring we visited Southern California, Tucson and Winslow, Arizona
(yes, THAT Winslow, Arizona), Santa Fe, New Mexico and Southern Utah. Every place we went we saw amazing art.
From beautiful landscapes to western and native American art, surrealism and of course, fantastic abstracts.
I was enthralled and deeply inspired by all of it. With my head spinning and my creativity bursting to come out,
I decided on Improv as my theme which would give me a broad, somewhat baseless place to begin creating.”

“Each of the 15 new works in Improv began without a plan, nothing more than a few colors and shapes to start.
The evolution of the individual pieces and the arc of the show was very organic and with layering and an abundance of playtime,
things began to take shape. With several of the larger pieces I would see an area that I found compelling and would be inspired
to begin a new piece using this smaller section as my jumping off point. From ‘Avalon’ came ‘My Garden Shed’,
from there came ‘Bridesmaids’. This happened several times and made for a very interesting process overall.”

“Other examples include ‘Street Party’ to ‘Piano Man’ and ‘I’m Your Huckleberry’ to ‘The Two Olive Solution’ plus ‘All That Jazz’.
My hope is that the viewer will see and feel the various threads that bind the show together and truly make it one of total improvisation.”

•  •  •  •  •  •

We  look forward to seeing you at the September 6, First Friday Gallery Walk in Bend, Oregon’s Old Mill District! If you can’t make the opening party
make sure to drop in during the month to see this uniquely IMPROVisational exhibt of 15 new paintings by Dee McBrien-Lee.

Our galleries in the Old Mill District — Lubbesmeyers Studio & Gallery, Stacks Studios & Gallery (just upstairs),
and Amejko (in the little red house) along with Tumalo Art Co. are the hub, and various stores host artists
for the First Friday Gallery Walk every month. Stop by—we have flyers and can direct you.