At the peek of her talents

Help pass the time leading to the first days of spring by visiting the mixed-media fresco collection, “The Short Days of Winter” by Agnes Field, on display at the Newport Visual Arts Center from Saturday, Jan. 8 through the end of February.

Field’s paintings on panels and other substrata are in the Upstairs Gallery, where a soft opening will be held on Saturday, Jan. 8 from noon to 4 pm, with an artist talk at 2 pm.

“Most of the materials I use are recycled or found material and occasionally the materials define the direction of my work,” Field said. “I do believe in material identity — that certain materials have their own possibilities and sense of time. The tension is between chance and choice — the unexpected given or the decisions made.”

Born and raised in Astoria, Field moved to New York City and studied at the School of Visual Arts, where she completed graduate work in studio art before working at Studio Art International in Florence and Venice. Now back in her hometown, she is a founding board member of Astoria Visual Arts and KMUN-FM radio and has been a practicing artist on the Oregon Coast for more than 20 years.

Field’s work has been shown nationally and internationally and can be found at the Astoria Visual Arts Gallery, Cannon Beach Gallery, Fairweather Gallery and others.

Most recently she and two other artists were awarded a grant to restore and repurpose an historic local park.

The Newport Visual Arts Center is located at 777 NW Beach Drive, and is open on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from noon to 4 pm. Temperatures will be taken prior to entry.