Lake Oswego Festival

Lisa Griffen, "No More Candy." Mixed media on 16x20" canvas.

Lisa Griffen, “No More Candy.” Mixed media on 16×20″ canvas.

I finished this painting on Thursday and dropped it off yesterday, along with 5 others, for the 53rd Annual Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts that takes place next weekend (June 24-26). This is my first time doing the Open Show at the festival. I’m excited about entering my paintings in such a big show that gets over 20,000 visitors. Standing in the long line to drop off art, I was looking at the beautiful florals and landscapes around me and thinking my art would definitely stand out–hopefully in a good way.

When I got home, one of the show volunteers had written me to say that he was glad to see my work there and that photos online don’t do my paintings justice. That made my night!

Rumpelstiltskin is my name

What a fun, energetic reception! The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale show opened tonight at the Portland’5 Center for the Arts, where it will be on view until the end of May. I’m honored to be included in this show, especially now that I’ve seen the other art. So many fascinating and beautiful interpretations of these stories, including some of the lesser-known tales. It’s worth a look so if you’re in the area, stop in and check it out!

"Rumpelstiltskin," by Lisa Griffen. Mixed media outsider art painting on 20x16" canvas. Currently available at Portland'5 Center for the Arts.

“Rumpelstiltskin,” by Lisa Griffen. Mixed media outsider art painting on 20×16″ canvas. Currently available at Portland’5 Center for the Arts.

Wanderlust

Sculpture at Kunsthaus Tacheles, an artists' collective in Berlin, taken during my trip in 2010. Photo by Lisa Griffen.

Sculpture at Kunsthaus Tacheles, an artists’ collective in Berlin, taken during my trip in 2010. Photo by Lisa Griffen.



Now that Spring Break just ended, I’m feeling the urge to travel. It’s partly due to spring and the warmer, sunnier weather. After the hibernation of winter, I want to GO somewhere and see something new. I may also be conditioned because April is a month when I’ve done a lot of traveling: to Washington DC in 2010, to Hamburg and Paris in 2012, a road trip to California in 2013.

The photos are from a visit to the Tacheles art center in Berlin. What a place! It was housed in a former department store that was used as a prison by the Nazis, then the building was taken over by artists after the Berlin Wall came down. By the time of my trip, it had been going strong for about 20 years and was packed with cool stuff. I wish I’d had more time to explore and talk with the artists there but I feel lucky to have seen it before it was closed down. Wikipedia says that part of the sculpture area is still open.


Sculptures in the courtyard of the Tacheles artists' collective in Berlin. Photo by Lisa Griffen.

Sculptures in the courtyard of the Tacheles artists’ collective in Berlin. Photo by Lisa Griffen.

Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale Art Show

When I was a kid I read every fairy tale book at our small-town library, so it’s exciting to be accepted into this show. The library was in a historic building in the Sonoma plaza and I still remember being 8 years old, going downstairs to the kids’ room, smelling the deliciously musty scent of old books, and hearing the cellophane covers crinkle as I opened them. The stories inside made a big impression on my young imagination.

Portland artist Kelly Williams came up with this evocative theme and is curating. She’s chosen a great group of artists and I can’t wait to see how everyone interprets the various stories. I think I’ll keep my painting under wraps until the opening. The show is at the Portland’5 Center for the Arts. It opens with a reception the evening of April 7 and runs through the end of May. Definitely worth checking out!

Affordable Art for Everyone

Affordable Art logo

It feels like I’ve been waiting for ages to open the applications for this year’s Affordable Art show, but today’s the day! All the ducks are in a row and the application info is polished up. I’m thrilled that people had already started to apply by noon today! As artists start submitting images, I can imagine the event taking shape. It’s gonna be a good one!

Humphrey

Lisa Griffen, Humphrey, mixed media on 8x8" wood.

Lisa Griffen, Humphrey, mixed media on 8×8″ wood.

This is one of my paintings that sold at the Big 500 show at People’s Art in Portland. The show ran from mid-December to mid-January and eight of my ten paintings sold. I heard from several artist friends who had similar results, so it seems like it was a very successful show this year!

Snow Days

Nandina berries encased in ice. Photo by Lisa Griffen.

Nandina berries encased in ice. Photo by Lisa Griffen.

Family visitors have left after the holidays and today was going to be my first day of getting back to my routine, but nature had other plans. We had snow yesterday. It was beautiful when it was falling and I love the way it transforms the landscape. It was also quite an adventure driving over to Village Gallery to hang the January show. As often happens in this area, the snow quickly turned to ice and today the entire area was shut down as it was too dangerous to drive. That meant a free day for my family and a postponement of my plans, but I don’t even mind.

Studio Icicles

The ice is bad for driving but possibly even more magical than the snow.

Buds are just starting on the lilac bush but they're currently encased in ice. Photo by Lisa Griffen.

Buds are just starting on the lilac bush but they’re currently encased in ice. Photo by Lisa Griffen.

Old Soul

Lisa Griffen, Old Soul, mixed media on 8x8" wood.

Lisa Griffen, Old Soul, mixed media on 8×8″ wood.

This is the fourth of my ten paintings for the Big 500 show at Peoples Art in Portland. There was about half a day when I considered painting over the figure that was emerging in this painting but I kept going with it and I love the way it turned out.

Sunday was the deadline so my paintings are all turned in. This is my third year doing this show and it now feels like an annual tradition: get the Big 500 paintings done and then the holiday season really starts!