Author: Yelena Shabrova
The Perfect Piece – Gallery & Gifts – soft opening
So happy that I made time to visit the Perfect Piece – Gallery & Gifts for their soft opening today. Beautiful space, such a nice variety of art, and everything is laid out just beautifully. Glad to be in this gallery, glad another local gallery became a reality!
The Stress-Free Way to Hang Art
Why does hanging art make many of us so nervous? If you follow a few simple rules, it’s easy.
“The big thing to get over is the intimidation factor. It’s not rocket science.”
~ David Kassel, the owner of ILevel, a professional art installation company in New York
Art installers and advisers recently shared a few of their secrets.
Got Juried into Beaverton Arts Mix! 2021
Piecing It All Together I ~ mixed media, 12″ x 12″ 
Explorer ~ mixed media on canvas panel, 8″ x 10″ 
Piecing It All Together II ~ mixed media, 12″ x 12″
These three have been juried into the 2021 BAM! Art Show & Sale. COVID struck again, and the show is going to be virtual at https://www.beavertonoregon.gov/1269/Beaverton-Arts-Mix-Art-Show-Sale. The BAM! Art Show & Sale will be live for a little over 2 weeks, October 1-17.
There was real hope to do it live before Delta, but oh well! It’s still going to be pretty good, and I look forward to see new art by artists I already know and those whom I haven’t discovered yet.
“Running Free” sold
“Running Free” found a new home yesterday, and today I handed it over to a lovely person who bought it for their dear friend, an owner of 5 horses one of which is a mustang that she’s tamed herself.
“Outburst” at the Pretty Petal Exhibit
Dropped “Outburst” at the Valley Art Gallery today for the “Pretty Petals” exhibit which will be up April 23 – May 22, Mon-Sat, 11 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Valley Art Gallery is located at 2022 Main Street, Forest Grove, OR.
Stop by if you can, it’s a wonderful place!
Also on Social Media
Magnolias for Twitter Art Exhibit 2021
Got a word yesterday that my 12 x 16 cm drawing made it to the 10th Twitter Art Exhibit that this year is helping Horry County Disabilities & Special Needs.
The show was going to be held in Myrtle Beach, SC but is now in limbo due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I do hope that there still be an option to buy the cards online like in previous years, no matter what the fate of the live show. Then we still do good and all is as well as it can be.
Every volunteer who helped with the show is very much appreciated, as are many artists who sent in their little creations.
Also on Social Media
Updated July 13th, 2021
My card for the Twitter Art Exhibit 2021 has been sold! The live one-day show happened later than originally placed, it happened the Cheltenham Racecourse and was a big success. There are still cards available at https://www.twitterartexhibit.org/shop. 100% of proceeds from TAE21 Postcards goes to The Leukaemia and Intensive Chemotherapy Fund – LINC. (http://www.lincfund.org/)
Juried into Water Media Spring Juried Show at OSA
My two drawing have been juried into the latest art show at the Oregon Society of Artists. I know, neither one looks like it should be in this kind of a show, but any media that could be diluted with water was eligible, and my ink was 🙂
The show can be appreciated in person and online at https://www.osagallery.org/water-media-juried, whatever is more convenient to you!
Now, looking at all the amazing art in this show online, I feel like maybe I should pick up a brush and get lost in many shades of black ink again!
The online version of the show can be found here: https://www.osagallery.org/water-media-juried
Show dates:
March 4 – 24, 2021
Gallery location: 2185 SW Park Place, Portland, Oregon 97205 (directions)
Open: Monday – Friday, 1 – 4 p.m.
Also on Social Media
Colored Pencil Bouquet
Excuse me while I gloat real quick over here. These are 287 lightly used Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth Polycolor pencils I’ve got today from the ever awesome I’ve Been Framed store in East Portland (https://www.ivebeenframedpdx.com/, @ivebnframed), lovingly packed and adorned with a ribbon. Prairie, the store owner, is this wonderful, and the tin was free because reasons. It’s literally a colored pencil bouquet. The cost per pencil is a small fraction of a brand new one practically anywhere, so it’s a birthday and a Christmas rolled into one and such an awesome hoard that I still cant’ believe my luck.
It started at a very reasonable $1/pencil public announcement, then I found out nobody has snatched the whole lot yet which is unbelievable as I am always late to the party, then because I was taking everything the price became a joke. I tried to give the store more money. They declined on the grounds of me being a loyal customer. Go figure. Deep down I feel like I’ve committed a daylight robbery, but my grabby hands are so very happy!
New Trees for the 6x6x6 art show at the Alberta Street Gallery
Dropped my new little trees at the Alberta Street Gallery today. They will be in the 6x6x6 Community Art Show along with many other 2D and 3D artworks by talented local artists.
Come and enjoy the show if you are in or close enough to the East Portland, there will be many little treasures to see and maybe take something home with you!
Show dates:
March 1 – 25, 2021
Gallery location: 1829 NE Alberta Street, Portland, Oregon (directions)
Open: daily, 11 am – 7 pm
Also on Social Media
New Rhythms at Art Elements Gallery
Susan Greenbaum’s abstracts and Don and Cindy Hoskisson’s pottery at Art Elements Gallery in Newberg. Amazing show. I kept coming back to some pieces again and again, and it made up for the entire week that consisted of one Monday after another. Art fixes almost everything.
Dream Beyond COVID Exhibition
“Piecing It All Together” I and II have been juried into the “Dream Beyond COVID Exhibition” organized by the Wilsonville Arts & Culture Council. The exhibition will be held online at https://www.wilsonvillearts.org/current-exhibition.
All artworks are available for sale at https://www.wilsonvillearts.org/shop.
It’s a very nice collection of local art, see if something speaks to you!
“On the Way III” in the “Portraits, Figures, and Selfies” show
“On the Way III” will be a part of the “Portraits, Figures, and Selfies” art show in the Oregon Society of Artists gallery.
The show will be held both in the gallery and online for those who don’t feel comfortable getting out during the pandemic.
Show dates:
February 4 – February 24, 2021 (February 4 – April 1 online)
Gallery location: 2185 SW Park Place, Portland, Oregon 97205 (directions)
Open: Monday – Friday 10 am – 4 pm, Saturday 1 – 4 pm
Stop by if you can, either in person or virtually!
Updated February 3rd, 2021
Online show is now up at https://www.osagallery.org/portrait-show
Also on Social Media
Bye 2020! at the Blind Insect Multicultural Art Gallery & Shop
So happy that “Gathering II” and “Gathering III” have been selected for the Bye 2020! exhibition at Blind Insect Gallery! The show will be up December 11th, 2020 – Friday, January 15th, 2021. Blind Insect is an amazing little gallery on Alberta Street, Portland, it’s always full of wonderful artsy gems, and I can’t wait to see what the show will look like.
Show dates:
December 10, 2020 – January 15, 2021
Gallery location: 2841 NE Alberta St, Portland OR 97211 (directions)
Open: Wednesday – Sunday, 11 am – 4 pm
There are so many amazing small artworks by 36 local and national artists, come enjoy them!
All three of “Delicate Beginnings” series sold
The series of foals that I’ve created for the Art for the Heart show has been sold. The show benefited The Arts Center in Corvallis, OR.
A lovely lady bought all three as a gift for a former endurance rider who has her own horses. Happy to contribute and glad that all three drawings will stay together.
Last Traces of Fog – sold at #TAE20
My little drawing has been sold at the Twitter Art Exhibit’s opening night in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The wonderful curator for #TAE20, Debanjana Bhattacharjee, gave it a permanent happy home!
The 10th Twitter Art Exhibit that this year is helping Horry County Disabilities & Special Needs. Watch the opening ceremony here: https://www.twitterartexhibit.org/live.
It’s always takes a lot of work to organize a big art show, but this year is extra challenging because of the pandemic and many uncertainties that came with it. I am very grateful for everyone who volunteered their time and talent to help with #TAE20.
The 2021 call for artists just opened, and a new cycle of creating and helping has began! I can’t wait to be a part of it again.
Art for the Heart 8×8 Gallery 2020
Dropped my contribution to the Art Gallery for Art for the Heart that benefits Center for the Arts in Corvallis. I am not sure if the show will be an actual physical one or online only like many others. I haven’t been to the place since way before the pandemic, and it was so nice to walk in and enjoy the current show and new things in their gift shop. It was almost normal. Almost.
Three 5” x 5” drawings make the “Delicate Beginnings” little series. It would be four, but the forth one became a casualty of forgetting to cover the ink drawing with final fixative before attempting to mount it on top of the tissue paper with pastels and powdered bone. It will require heavy touch-up and maybe adding some color to the foal. I am not sure about color yet, but it’s a possibility. Maybe all four would benefit from some color.
More details about the show: https://theartscenter.net/call-for-artists-8×8-art-gallery-for-art-for-the-heart/
Updated September 25th, 2020
The Art for the Heart 8×8 Gallery is going up in the Corrine Woodman Gallery tomorrow.
The show will be up from September 26th till October 8th, 2020.
The current hours of The Arts Center are Thursday – Saturday, 12 pm – 5 pm.
Masks and Social Distancing Required
Virtual Reception
The 8×8 Gallery reception will be held on October 1, 2020 at 6 pm online. It will be the first chance to purchase any artwork in this gallery.
Register for Art for the Heart by clicking here. Registration is free. Also visit The Arts Center’s Facebook page by clicking here for more info.
2020 BAM! Virtual Show & Sale
“Improbable Dreams of a Tree” has been juried into the 2020 BAM! Virtual Show & Sale. COVID-19 pushed this one online too, and it’s good news considering that it could be just canceled.
There were 544 submissions this year, and the show has been made bigger than usual because there are no physical space constrains. I am so excited to see others’ creations, even though it will not be an in person experience!
The show will run for the entire month of October, 1-31, 2020.
Drawing Skin with ONLY 5 Colored Pencils
I love drawing with limited palette. It’s a great exercise in coming up with colors for which I don’t have a pencil. It eliminates the agony of going through a hundred and a half colored pencils trying to figure out which ones to layer (and in which order!) to get what I want. And as a bonus, it feels a bit like doing magic.
Here, Kirsty Partridge shows how to approach one of the most complex subjects, human skin, with just a few carefully selected colored pencils.
Digital collage with a blackbird
Digital collage with a blackbird, a joint effort of ArtFlow and Painter (both are Android drawing apps) and Photoshop. The bird took forever and some to get right. I could draw it on paper times faster, but somehow “digital” translated into “quick” in my mind. It’s not quick, at least not if you were born way before computers, tablets, and digital pens.
6 x 6 x 6 show at the Alberta Street Gallery closed
Although the show was affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Alberta Street Gallery managed to sell 29 small artworks. One of them was my “Blossoms I.”
I am sure there would be more happy visitors and buyers if things were normal. The gallery is going to do the show again next year, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.
Also on social media
Last Traces of Fog – my 12 x 16 cm contribution to #TAE20
Got a word yesterday that my 12 x 16 cm drawing made it to the 10th Twitter Art Exhibit that this year is helping Horry County Disabilities & Special Needs.
The show was going to be held in Myrtle Beach, SC but is now in limbo due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I do hope that there still be an option to buy the cards online like in previous years, no matter what the fate of the live show. Then we still do good and all is as well as it can be.
Every volunteer who helped with the show is very much appreciated, as are many artists who sent in their little creations.
Also on social media
2020 SWA Spring Show & Sale
Updated on March 17, 2020: Due to the COVID-19 emergency and the closing of the Water Resources Center through the end of April, the SWA 2020 Spring Show is canceled.
“Ravishing” and “Improbable Dreams of a Tree” will be a part of the 2020 SWA Spring Show & Sale in Vancouver, WA.
Show dates:
Thursday, April 30, 11 am – 5 pm
Friday, May 1, 12 pm – 8 pm
Saturday, May 2, 12 pm – 8 pm. Reception 5 pm – 7 pm
Sunday May 3, 12 pm – 3 pm
Show location: Vancouver Water Resource Center / 4600 SE Columbia Way, Vancouver, WA (directions)
More information on the Society of Washington Artists’ website: https://www.swavancouver.com/
I will be at the reception and may come earlier to pick up my art on Sunday. If you can attend, it will be my pleasure to meet you.