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Wednesday, November 20, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Artist captures magnificent landscapes
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Janice Druian9s artistic
path was winding, and it took
her through unexpected ter-
rain over the course of a life-
time 4 but it led her true, out
into the vast expanses of the
American Outback, which
she captures in work that has
earned her a spot among the
finest, most highly regarded
artists in the vibrant arts com-
munity of Central Oregon and
the Pacific Northwest.
<I really have a passion for
painting,= she said simply.
She can9t remember a time
when that wasn9t the case. As
a young woman she studied at
San Francisco State and UC
Berkeley, and graduated with
a degree in psych social wel-
fare. But the pull of art was
strong.
<I loaded up my tiny VW
Beetle and drove up to Eugene
and miraculously talked my
way into graduate school in
art education 4 and I never
took an education class,= she
said.
She graduated cum laude
in 1971. Then, the economics
of the arts smacked her.
<I had a one-woman show
and I made $45 and I thought,
»Well, this isn9t going to work
out.9=
A day job was in order,
and Druian started out in
social work per her education,
then moved into educational
development and thence into
organizational development,
where she built a successful
30-year career, a highlight
being time spent working for
the Port of Portland.
She never stopped painting
though.
<I painted at night,= she
said.
Though watercolor is not
her preferred medium, she
used them because they were
easy to clean up and suitable
for the time and space she was
allowed for her art.
About 15 years ago, she
and her husband, Greg, built
a house in Central Oregon
4 and painting moved to the
fore. Thanks to the spectacular
view of the Deschutes River
and the Three Sisters afforded
by her new home, Druian was
inspired to start painting land-
scapes, which she had never
done before.
<Almost immediately, I
joined Plein Air Painters of
Oregon,= she said. <I found
landscape to be incredibly
challenging.=
In addition to the calling of
her new home, Druian traces
her inspiration to a book of
paintings by the master of
Western landscape painting,
Maynard Dixon. She studied
his work and thought, <I have
to paint like this.=
Druian is a dedicated and
serious artist, and she stud-
ied her challenging craft
intensively. She took classes
with the renowned artist Jean
Legassick, who remains a
close friend.
<She kind of took me under
her wing,= Druian said.
Working in oils, Druian has
explored the remote reaches of
Oregon and the Great Basin.
<I like the desert,= she
said. <The further you can get
into Eastern Oregon and the
remote places, the happier I
am. I like being way out there,
where you are in conversation
with your own soul.=
Druian says she paints
en plein air only a couple of
times a year, just to keep the
chops up.
<I9m a cranky en plein
air painter, yes,= she con-
fessed. <=It9s too hot!9 »It9s too
windy!==
Druian has for many
years been a featured art-
ist at Tumalo Art Co., and
she has shown her work at
Borrego Springs Invitational,
and Cowgirl Up in Arizona;
Clearwater
Gallery
Invitational; <The Crush,=
Columbia Center for the Arts
(Hood River); and Art of the
West at the Favell Museum.
She maintains a regular
display at Bedouin in Sisters,
which she refreshes with new
work every four months or so.
<Janit (Brockway, founder
of Bedouin) started putting
my work in Bedouin,= Druian
said. <I became good friends
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Janice Druian’s “Storm Over Summer Lake” earned her a prestigious spot
in an Artist magazine feature — one of 10 finalists out of 2,000 entries.
with Janit 4 she9s an amazing
person.=
That tradition has contin-
ued with Bedouin9s current
owner, Harmony Thomas,
who is hosting Druian at the
shop and the adjacent Good
Day Café at 143 E. Hood Ave.
during the Fourth Friday Art
Stroll on Friday, November
22.
Druian notes that Greg will
be playing jazz at the shop
during the stroll.
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