LightBox displays ‘Nudes Downtown’ paintings
ASTORIA — LightBox Pho-
tographic Gallery will hold
an artists’ reception for lo-
cal artists Lisa Ackerman
and John Wecker from 5 to
8 p.m. Saturday, March 14.
Both artists will display a
selection of paintings as part
of the “Nudes Downtown”
celebration. Ackerman and
Wecker will also include
other pieces of work for the
reception.
Ackerman has lived in
Astoria since 2005 and owns
Old Things & Objects an-
tique shop with her husband,
Shawn. She is a familiar face
in the Astoria art communi-
ty, having shown her work in
both group and solo shows
over the years. Most nota-
bly, Ackerman has been ac-
cepted into the “Au Naturel”
art show at Clatsop Com-
munity College four times.
“I feel inspired by painting
the nude form as it discloses
human nature without any
disguises,” she says.
Ackerman is currently
working on paintings in-
spired by the seven chakras.
The first chakra, “Muladha-
ra,” (the foundation of the
energy body with energy
circulating from the base of
the spine and is the symbol
of earth and roots with red)
is in the “Nudes Downtown”
show at LightBox.
“The focus of my paint-
ings is to open myself and
others to the world’s diver-
sity and expression through
building on a collective con-
sciousness of imagery, and
to promote an awareness
and reverence for the earth
and all of its inhabitants,
while also showing respect
for the generations that pro-
ceeded us and how they have
shaped us into the people
we are,” says Ackerman. “I
love painting friends in de-
ity form, as it helps provide
insight into their own arche-
types. I also love including
natural landscapes in back-
grounds inspired by the lo-
cal area and various trips.”
Artist John Wecker is a
retired Lutheran pastor who
discovered the joy of draw-
ing and painting by study-
ing with Kristin Shauck at
CCC, noting that he has
also learned much from lo-
cal artists who are generous
with their ideas and experi-
ences. At this time, Wecker
is focused on oil paintings
on canvas or wood, but has
been experimenting with oil
on polymeric film as well.
On his attraction to artis-
tic nudes, Wecker explains,
“The human figure is partic-
ularly fascinating and chal-
lenging since every pose and
expression is new, and the
slightest change of a line or
value makes a huge differ-
ence in the image. I particu-
larly enjoy the gesture aspect
of figure drawing as it trains
the eye and mind to pay
careful and intense attention
and to quickly see the rela-
Submitted photo
“At Ease” by John Wecker.
tive proportions, values and
shapes of the model. I hope
that as I learn more skills in
drawing and painting I will
also gain more freedom to
express what I see or imag-
ine in new ways.”
Submitted photo
“Muladhara” by Lisa Ackerman.
LightBox Photographic
opened “The Photographic
Nude 2015” in February, an
annual international juried
exhibit that is in its fifth
year. This year’s exhibit
consists of work from photo-
graphic artists from around
the globe, including Portu-
gal, France, Great Britain,
Iceland and Slovakia. The
exhibit runs through April
4. Every month LightBox
exhibits new silver gelatin
prints from LightBox Dark-
room members.
LightBox Photographic
Gallery is located at 1045
Marine Drive. For more
information, call 503-468-
0238 or visit www.light-
box-photographic.com
Color the Coast for Autism
with run, walk this April
HAMMOND — The Autism
Society of Oregon will host a
Color the Coast for Autism 3K
Run / Fun Walk on April 11 at
the Astoria/Warrenton/Seaside
KOA, located at 1100 N.W.
Ridge Road.
Registration starts at 10
a.m., and the run/walk begins
at 11:30 a.m.
KOA is providing free ac-
tivities, a free hot dog lunch,
and a free two-night stay April
10 and 11 in a rustic cabin, tent
or RV site for all registered
participants while supplies
last. A one-night deposit is
required but will be refunded
upon check-in.
Early bird registration for
the run/walk ends Saturday,
March 21 and fees are: $12
for adults and $9 for children
16 | March 12, 2015 | coastweekend.com
age 3 to 12. Standard regis-
tration after March 21 is $14
adults and $11 for children age
3 to 12. Children ages 2 and
younger are free. Every per-
son registered gets a free event
T-shirt.
Teams are welcome. Dis-
counts are available for teams
with 10 or more members.
When you register, you can
create a personal fundraising
page. You can also win prizes
for largest team of registered
members, highest fundraising
team and highest individual
fundraiser.
For more information, call
Tobi Rates at 503-636-1676 or
email oregonautismd@gmail.
com. Register online at http://
tinyurl.com/2015colorthe-
coast