Painting in Process--"At the Riverside Market"

16"x20"

Oil on Panel

$1350 framed, plus shipping

Available after May 6th

This painting (which is almost finished!) is for a specific juried show sponsored by the Arts Beauty and Culture Commission here in Bend, Oregon.  The process of preparing to do it and the actual painting of it has really been great.  The theme of the show (Place 12:  City Walls at City Hall) was to explore how the past in our town influences the present and future.  I was asked to create a painting that would also tie in with our town's Vision 2030 of what a "strong community" means.  At first I was feeling like this might end up being like doing an illustration job, but after a great conversation with the representatives of Vision 2030, the word "community" took on a much more personal meaning for me--a gathering place where people feel comfortable, get to know each other, where lives intersect in a meaningful way. 

One person suggested the Riverside Market as a place that fit that description for them.  It's a little neighborhood market/cafe that has served a part of Bend since 1935, beginning as a gas station.  I visited it and found it to be a perfect subject.  It is definitely the kind of place that has a homey feel--the people that own it and that I've met there are so welcoming.  It is a place where people from the neighborhood hang out, getting coffee in the morning and/or enjoying happy hour later in the day and it's definitely kid and pet friendly.  The words from the "Cheers" song "where everybody knows your name" kept coming to mind as I'd sit and sketch and take my reference photos.  They are really active in doing things that encourage improvements in the neighborhood and Bend--like fundraising for the development of a new park close by.   The setting of the little painting with Amber that I posted a few days ago is also here.  I loved painting this and I know a big part of the reason was the interactions I've had with the people in the painting.