AN UNCOMMON BEAUTY—Paintings of the people and the land East of the Cascades, opens Friday August 3, from 5-9pm at Tumalo Art Co. Vicki Shuck and Janice Druian have partnered on a project to document through paintings, the rural way of life on ranches, farms and in small towns east of the Cascades. The goal of the project has been to portray the people and communities of rural Oregon as they are today to further the understanding of the beauty and the challenges of rural life.

Artist Demo—August 5 . Vicki will demo from noon-2:30pm; Janice will demo 2:30-4pm

During 2011 and 2012,  Vicki and Janice have focused on the Klamath Basin, Harney Co (specifically the Diamond Valley) and Hood  River. They have been welcomed by people from these three areas and through interviews, photos (later used as reference materials for paintings).  Vicki and Janice have started a project that will likely take several more years as they expand the areas of focus to include other parts of Central and Eastern Oregon.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

—  JANICE DRUIAN— Janice Druian a  plein air and studio oil painter is motivated to capture the beauty of the land in this region, as it is today.  Her inspiration comes from the landscape painters of the early part of the 20th Century, whose works stand as testament to the beauty of the land as it was then.  Often the places pictured no longer exist as they were and the paintings are a record of what was.

—  VICKI SHUCK –Vicki’s narrative oil paintings celebrate the richness inherent in our daily lives.  Her style is what could be called painter of contemporary life.  She captures people as they go about their day to day life.  Each painting is about one of the moments that together form the totality of life.  In her own words Vicki describes her work: “For me this project is to honor the people and the land that gave me life and taught me beauty.”