Sunriver Resort Lodge Betty Gray Gallery welcomes 2016 with acrylic fantasy images by Susan Busik in the upper gallery and oil landscapes by Janice Druian in the lower gallery continuing through January 30.
Busik grew up in Sisters and resides in Bend. Her early art included weaving and teaching herself to paint using acrylics and creating large abstracts. The acrylic paintings currently on view at the Betty Gray Gallery reflect learning of her Hispanic heritage in her ’40s and beginning to paint the traditional, intricate designs and patters of Mexico. These appear in her over-scale, brightly colored dahlias, poppies, birds, Madonnas and other subjects.
Traditional in Hispanic art is “magical reality” or portrayal of the unseen, a sense of the transcendent, and the spiritual in nature. Her current work includes many such references including hummingbird and butterfly images, sacred in the Native American tradition, and spirals or dots of brilliant color which symbolize spirit’s presence in our material world. All inspired by her lineage, Busik’s art thus pays a special homage to her heritage, to “my Grandmother’s art.”
Druian’s inspiration partially arises from artist Maynard Dixon who said, “My work…is not the regulation ‘Wild West’ type of painting. I aim rather to interpret the… sense of freedom this country inspires.” The artist’s admiration of Dixon’s art reflects her heritage as her family came west on the Oregon Trail. This enduring connection inspires her dramatic oil landscapes which capture the beauty and grandeur of Oregon’s high desert solitude.
Her small canvases focuses on the light found in many the remote parts of Oregon where viewers witness the sometimes-opalescent mountains, vermillion cliffs and dramatic sunsets encompassing the color spectrum. Her art appeared at the 9th Annual Plein Air Invitational in Borrego Springs, the Yosemite Renaissance XV at the Museum at Yosemite National Park, and at the ’14 & ’15 invitational Cowgirl Up: the Other Half of the West at the Desert Caballeros Museum in Arizona.
Patrons of the Betty Gray Gallery will learn exciting news regarding a new gallery schedule of exhibitions and themes commencing in February. Please watch for the February article in the A&E.
Sunriver Resort invites the public to the exhibition at the lodge, open all hours. Billye Turner organizes the Sunriver Resort Lodge art exhibits with info at 503-780-2828 or billyeturner@bendnet.com. HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2016!