Savor the first brush of fall
Toledo’s First Weekend highlights mill town’s artistic pedigree
The shifting hues of fall will be all around in Toledo this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 7 and 8, as the town hosts its monthly First Weekend celebration.
Throughout town, galleries and studios will open their doors, offering the public a chance to connect with local artisans and see what’s new.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art is currently displaying a Guest Artist Exhibition, featuring artists Earl Newman of Summit, and Marion Moir of Newport.
Newman, at 94 years old, is an established figure in the art of the counterculture ’60s, becoming known for his poster design and prints for the Monterey Jazz Festival, which are now part of the collection at the Smithsonian Division of Music History. After establishing himself in Summit, Newman continued to make posters for the Monterey Jazz Festival as well as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Oregon State University, the NW Art & Art Festival, the Oregon Country Fair, and the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Being hand-pulled, his serigraphs will all have their differences and unique qualities, and the economy of production of the work allows the prices to be affordable to all.
“I’ve been able to reproduce my designs in volume,” he said. “It’s like having 100 canvases on which to experiment, using different colors of paper and inks, varying the color blends as I go along.”
Moir is a designer, art teacher, plein air painter and book illustrator whose work is nearly synonymous with the Oregon Coast. Her distinct style and iconic wildlife and landscape paintings define the region. Her works span many forms from watercolor and acrylic, to gyotaku and collage. In her most recent works, Moir uses torn paper ephemera to create images of exotic birds. She finds the process enriching to create from her own works and well worth the effort.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art is located at 151 NE Alder Street, and will be open from noon to 4 pm both days of First Weekend.
Across the street, Gallery Michael Gibbons continues to show the late artist’s work and reproductions in the 1926 Vicarage Gallery space. Gibbons was known for his works depicting the Pacific Northwest, with a special emphasis on the Yaquina Watershed. As a longtime resident of the area, he found constant inspiration in the region’s history and setting. On display at the late artist’s Signature Gallery, “Long Light of Autumn” is a quiet vignette of a weathered barn just outside of Eddyville, showing the brilliance of the setting golden hour on the autumnal scene.
Located at 140 NE Alder Street, Gallery Michael Gibbons is open from noon to 4 pm during First Weekend. For more information, call 541 336 2797 or go to michaelgibbons.net.
Just around the corner, Ivan Kelly Studio-Gallery will be showcasing coastal oil paintings “Surf Watching" and “Morning Rising, Cape Foulweather,” both of which were honored at the BoldBrush Painting competition in June.
Located at 207 East Graham Street, Ivan Kelly Studio-Gallery is open from 11 to 4 pm on Saturday and 1 to 4 on Sunday. For more information, go to www.IvanKelly.com or call 541-336-1124.
On Main Street, Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio features the works of more than 15 artists in a variety of mediums. Oil painter Veta Bakhtina’s works capture audiences, drawing them into a secret world with her powerful use of color and enchanting subject matter. 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; Tish Epperson, watercolors; 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.
• First Weekend organizers still have a few prizes left over from last month’s Mural Treasure Hunt, so they are extending the opportunity for folks to win an art print through First Weekend September. First Weekend guests are encouraged to grab an event flyer with the Mural Map to follow the locations and instructions for a chance to win an art print of “Dockside Flowering Plums” by Michael Gibbons.