Arts
O
n First Friday, February 7 Mockingbird Gallery presents Nature’s Splendor, a two person show exhibiting new works by Joey VanBlokland and Craig Zuger. VanBlokland’s pastel paintings are inspired by Central Oregon’s spectacular natural landscapes. The mountains, rivers, trees, canyons and skies of the High Desert are the subjects of her lush landscapes. Finding an image she wants to paint can take her an entire day. VanBlokland will drive a back road to Prineville or Burns to search for cloud shadows or desert sage. She paints wide vistas of landscape with bold flashes of color. Tempestuous clouds and rim rock outcroppings come to life on her canvases. In the skies that she paints, light, color and clouds mingle in such a way that you want to stop and admire them. “People tell me that they have pulled off the road to look at the sky after looking at my landscapes. They look at their surroundings more intensely now, and I love inspiring that.” VanBlokland tries to not overly control the direction her paintings may take, and she maintains a great deal of patience with the pastel medium. She is attracted to pastels for their intense, vibrant and pure colors, their immediacy and the pleasure of how they feel. “I have a style where I touch the pastels with my hands and rub them down. They feel soft and creamy. It’s a sensual, interactive process.” An Oregonian since 1969, VanBlokland settled in Bend in 1986. She recently retired from a career as a surgical nurse, and is devoting her time to painting the beauty of her environment. She shares her home with her husband, Craig, on 30 acres overlooking the Cascade Range. Zuger, a lifelong resident of the Willamette Valley states, “Most of my time was spent in the High Desert of Eastern Oregon as a child, and that’s where my thoughts of being an artist began. Soon I began painting the areas I loved.” In 1981, Zuger was enlisted to take part in the recreation of the homeward bound route of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The trip took six months to complete, traveling entirely by canoe and horseback. Apart from his duties in the expedition, his personal agenda was to photograph the land and its wildlife to be used
later in his artistic pursuits. Numerous sketches and paintings grew out of that experience. After countless trips into the desert as an assistant to a long time friend and naturalist who was compiling photos and data for field guides and books about Oregon, he was once again immersed in the natural beauty of the landscape. As a landscape painter, Zuger pursues the challenge of how to capture the landscape as it is affected by atmosphere and shifting light. Zuger lives with his wife, Yolanda, and a brood of animals on one hundred acres of rolling hills and white oaks, which is home to most all of the Willamette Valley native species of flora and fauna. The two have been actively involved with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the nationwide private landowners Partners Program which are helping them to restore the historic landscape and retain their farmland as a wildlife conservation area. Zuger’s love of wildlife and his deep respect for the environment has motivated him to paint all of his subjects in carefully rendered oils. “I have painted a variety of subjects over the years, but it is my lasting love affair with the land that continues to capture most of my attention as a vast source for paintings. I have been deeply inspired to paint the beauty of nature, and my goal is to depict the land as respectfully and as artfully as possible.” Primarily a landscape painter, Zuger will often backpack miles into an area in pursuit of a painting. Animals may be included in a scene or he may choose to make the animal the main focus. Zuger is a member of Oil Painters of America and Landscape Artists International and has been included in many of their national and regional shows. His images have been published in the Art of the West magazine. His work is exhibited in Fredericksburg, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma and at Mockingbird Gallery in Bend. The show will continue through the end of February. Join Mockingbird Gallery for a glass of wine, to meet the artists and to enjoy music by Rich Hurdle and Friends on First Friday in downtown Bend. Mockingbird Gallery, 869 NW Wall St., 541-388-2107, www.mockingbird-gallery.com.
Change is Coming by Joey Vanblokland
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