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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2000)
aprii 7.2000 S tephen O ’Donnell is self-obsessed, but in a good way. He paints delicate portraits of himself having all kinds of fun— more fun, in fact, than he seems to have time for in real life. His new show at the Quartersaw Gallery, where he’s been showing for the past five years, runs through April 29. His paintings, which he does in acrylic with ultrafine brushes on rather small boards and can vases, can take a month to complete. “It’s hard on my nervous system— the concentra tion— and I don’t have very steady hands,” O ’Donnell explains. He also works at a book store four days a week. “On my days off I work all day painting, so I never really have a day off,” he adds. But in his paintings he Deux Chats en Taffetas Blanc has some fine adventures. In life not to paint,” he explains, the angst very one especially glamorous piece, We Were Dane' evident in his voice. “When I was a child I was ing (I Was Never Lovelier), O ’Donnell paints always told, ‘Oh, you’re so talented,’ but it was himself as both Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers a mixed message.” against a starry background, gliding across a O ’Donnell says he feels obligated to express polished floor. his talent but is tom about becoming a com Though many of his paintings have a surre mercial commodity. al quality about them, O ’Donnell says he is “I figure I wasn’t given this ability for noth “more influenced by film, music and history.” ing.... 1 have something to say— not a con He particularly loves films from the 1930s, the scious process— but gender identity is certainly haute glamour era of Hollywood. To help cre ate that mind-set, while he works he often listens to French songs from the ’20s and ’30s. He’s also a Russian history buff, and his current show contains four works with that inspiration. In The Grand Duchess Vladimir and I Admire Her New Cartier Tiara, the artist gets to wear the crown himself. In his artist’s statement, O ’Don nell explains why he paints himself: “I consciously use the self-portrait as a device to try to direct attention toward the content of the work, rather than to the identity of the sub ject.” Despite his obvious skill and accomplishments, O ’Donnell is a classic tortured artist. Will the real Stephen O ’Donnell please step forward? “I’ve been struggling my whole Gay Friendly Travel M aking Vacation Dream s Com e True! ‘R ealty Coot S tu ff Antiques & Treasures New master Portland artist paints himself into history and other fun places by O r ia n a G r een i i |V a theme,” he says, adding that he first tried doing drag in the mid-’80s as a once-a-year Bird Call fun thing. In fact, most of the images in this show are of O ’Donnell in drag. In Deux Chats en Taffetas Blanc, he poses with his very shy cat, Gatito, and in Bird Call he has adapted a costume he wore to the Dada Ball a few years ago. Bird Call is notable for another reason: the dramatic use of red— or any strong color, for that matter. O ’Donnell is a man of few colors. The paintings in his current show are predomi nantly black, white and ochre. He does own tubes of other colors, “but they don’t get used much,” he says. His tastefully decorated apart ment and his wardrobe also reflect his dedica tion to a neutral palette. His muted color sense does seem to fit his historical pieces quite well. In La Tempête à Versailles, he floats dreamlike above the famous French gardens in a sumptuous ball gown from the era of Marie Antoinette. In White Berdache, he’s decked out in a wasp-waisted gown with impossibly pointed shoes, his hair swirled into an extreme beehive while manly chest hair peeks out from the bodice of the dress. (The a real stereo store for real music lovers stereo word berdache designates a North American Indian male transvestite or homosexual who was accepted in assuming the dress, role and status of a woman.) There is a lightness to these portraits, and O ’Donnell has a decidedly droll outlook on himself. “I’m trying to do humorous things— getting the point across, but making it funny makes it easier to swallow,” he says. Still, there are serious undertones to these pieces. “Underneath, it’s a reaction to the loud ly conservative voices in this state, country, world that have little respect for difference and personal uniqueness,” O ’Donnell explains. The artist moved to Port land in 1993 after 13 years in California. He began revisit ing his art, at first doing pieces just for himself. Some early work that he showed at Quartersaw dealt with a lot of childhood issues, another period reflected the influence of Mexican folk art. Now he’s immersed in his fantasy self-portraits. So where do his ideas come from? “A picture just appears in my m ind.. .all the stuff that’s gone on in my life coalesces into something,” he explains. “Part of me wants to pull it back so it’s not exactly real— I’m not a realist, even though I have a precise style.” O ’Donnell, who leads a rather solitary life, admits he barely has time for a social life, but he’s “working toward a more balanced me,” he adds. His paintings, which hover in the $1,000 to $1,500 range, sell very well. But O ’Donnell is quick to point out that it’s not about money at this stage: “It wouldn’t be worth it as an hourly wage." He also does commissioned portraits, though it’ll take patience to get one. “I have a waiting list, because I haven’t had any new work for sale since last August,” he says, feeling the pressure to complete several more paintings before his opening. Here’s hoping O ’Donnell can find time to live out some of his painted fantasies, or at least take some time off! ■ S tephen O ’D onnell ’ s work is on display through April 29 at the Quartersaw Gallery, 528 N.W . 12th Ave. Cad (503) 223-2264 for gallery hours. DO YOU THINK YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY BECAUSE OF BEING GAY/LESBIAN/BISEXUAL OR TRANSGENDEREO? W e 're available I d help resolve conflicts o r problem s at work, in housing, o r public iTeriLynn Leu accom m odation. Travel Advisor Confidential consultation and m ediation services are free of charge. because music matters. The C ity of Portland w ants to 503 - 313-2002 gayfriendlytravel.com 7&7Z SW Capitol Highway Portland, OK 37219 • 505-240-6267 We a re lo cated In M ultnomah Village n ear The frid g e . Call fo r d irection «. help resolve discrim ination 2627 N.E. Broad way/Portland/ 280-0910 www.stereotypcMudio.com problem s. 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