Drawing crowds to Toledo
Illustrator Ed Cameron featured at First Weekend
With an autumnal chill in the air and long afternoon shadows on its colorful streets, the mill town of Toledo is perhaps at its most bewitchingly picturesque in the fall.
And that beauty will be on full display when galleries and studios thrown open their doors for First Weekend this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 5 and 6.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art is hosting the first ever solo exhibition of Ed Cameron’s work, entitled “The Moment.” Cameron, aged 93, is a local historian, author, artist, cartoonist, musician and all-around institution. He made a name for himself in the underground comic scene in ’70s San Francisco where his works were seen in the San Francisco Phoenix. Later, moving back to Oregon and landing on the Central Coast living in the Gilmore (now the Sylvia Beach Hotel), Cameron became a local news radio reporter and published his comics in his independent newspaper, the Gilmore Gazette. Throughout his life, comic artistry has been a constant. From his first inspirations in elementary school reading “Terry and the Pirates” to his work at the Gilmore Gazette and to this day, Cameron’s visual records capture fleeting moments that others only wish they could recall.
“I just kept drawing all my life” he said.
Cameron is known for his correspondence in the Oregonian about the legendary Gilmore, and his published work on the location has become an underground cult classic in its own right.
Cameron will be available to chat at an opening reception featuring wine and refreshments, starting at 1:30 pm on Sunday at the museum, located at 151 NE Alder Street. The museum will be open noon to 4 pm both days of First Weekend. For more information, go to yaquinarivermuseumofart.org.
Across the street, Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery will be featuring “Daylight Moon.” This early painting by the late Michael Gibbons demonstrates the drawing skills and realistic style honed during his early career as a specialty automotive accessories draftsman. Even in his early work, Gibbons found intrigue in the collision of the manmade and the natural. “Daylight Moon” depicts the weathered stages of two dwellings slowly going to seed amongst the grasses and trees as an autumn moon shines on.
See this work and more originals at Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery, open from noon to 4 pm both days of First Weekend at 140 NE Alder Street. For more information, go to michaelgibbons.net or call 541-336-2797.
On Main Street, Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio features the works of more than 15 artists in a variety of mediums. Watercolorist Tish Epperson’s work invokes the enchantment of nature. From the joy of a hike to the wonder of a fishing excursion, Epperson’s whimsical scenes feel like memories of campfires and storytelling. See her work in the gallery alongside pieces by gallery founder Janet Runger, found art assemblage; Alice Haga, fused glass; Sylvia Hosie, photography; Paula Teplitz, sculptural jellyfish mobiles; Jeff Gibford, digitally manipulated photographs; Veta Bakhtina, oil painting; Val Bolen, ceramics; and Susan Jones, woven fiber jellyfish. Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio is located at 305 N. Main Street, open from 10 am to 5 pm both days.