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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2017)
2 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Landscape painter celebrates three decades at White Bird Gallery with show, painting demo SUBMITTED PHOTOS LEFT: “Involution/Evolution,” by Jim Unwin. MIDDLE: Jim Unwin RIGHT: “Odin Watches,” by Jim Unwin Spirit, energy, form revealed in woodcarver exhibit OCEAN PARK, WASH. — Bay Avenue Gallery in Ocean Park, Washington, will feature an exhibit of work from the well-known carver Jim Unwin. Unwin, who creates woodcarvings and sculp- tures in the Northwest style, will present work with the theme “Incarna- tion, Transformation, and Liberation.” The exhibit will open Friday, Sept. 22, and run through Saturday, Oct. 14. An artist reception will be held 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23. Then, from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, Unwin will demonstrate carving techniques. His is intended to be universal and timeless, each piece representing a force or energy visualized as form. According to Unwin, art is about spirit illustrated as form that becomes trans- formed and liberating. “Odin Watches” is a Ra- ven carved of redwood and alder. According to Norse legend, Odin watched over the earth by sending out two Ravens who report back what they have seen. Unwin said this transformation piece illustrates the journey of spirit through form and time. A second piece, “Invo- lution/Evolution,” made of yellow cedar, shows the spirit manifested in form. The balance of negative and positive space holds the surprise, as the negative space reveals the shape that matter forms around. For more information about Bay Avenue Gallery events, call 360-665-5200, visit bayavenuegallery.com, or follow the gallery on Facebook. The gallery (1406 Bay Ave.) is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. It is closed Wednesdays. CANNON BEACH — For 31 of White Bird Gallery’s 46 years, Randall David Tip- ton’s vibrant oil landscapes have adorned its walls. To celebrate that long-running relationship, as well as his latest show, Tipton will hold a free painting demo at the gallery 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23. White Bird founder Evelyn Georges discovered Tipton’s work in 1986, on the walls of a bed-and- breakfast in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She phoned Tipton immediately, offering to show his work at White Bird. Tipton remembers setting foot in the Cannon Beach gallery for the first time. “I felt I was showing in a gallery that had real se- rious work, not just tourist stuff,” he said. “And that was important to me.” While Tipton’s paintings have shown at prestigious galleries in Portland and around the country, no relationships come close to his longevity at White Bird. Not only their partnership, but the gallery itself, is an outlier. “In general,” Tipton said, “galleries don’t have a real long lifespan. I’ve been in lots that have just folded, and many others that were just beginning. And they’re very excited, but then only last a year or two. Galleries that stick around this long are very rare.” “Usually it’s one per- son’s vision,” Tipton added. “And that person will either go broke, die or get old, and the gallery will close.” No so with White Bird. Current owner Allyn Cantor, who worked with Georges for a decade, made the transition seamless. SUBMITTED PHOTOS Paintings by Randall David Tipton Cantor recalls being im- mediately taken by Tipton’s work when she began at White Bird. “I walked in and saw his paintings, and I thought: This person sees nature and trees and light like I do,” Cantor said. “Of all the painters here at the time, he’s the one I connected with most of all.” “I still feel that way,” Cantor added, walking over to Tipton’s work. “These are my colors,” she said. “These pastels, I could just crawl into this.” Experience takes over Indeed, there is a strik- ing level of depth in Tip- ton’s oil-based paintings. From a distance, they scan as landscapes. Move closer and the level of abstraction abounds. Tipton gathers inspira- tion walking in nature — be it the woods, the beach or elsewhere. But, rather than painting in plein air, or from photographs or mem- ory, his process is more intuitive. “It’s not that I know ahead of time what an oak tree looks like,” Tipton explained. “But I’ve been looking at them all my life. When I’m painting, the way it’s fun for me is to drop paint on the surface, and start moving paint around with various tools, and when it looks like an oak tree I know it.” This improvisatory pro- cess makes it difficult for Tipton to teach. As such, he prefers painting demonstra- tions. “When I demonstrate I try to verbalize my process, and I can answer ques- tions,” Tipton said. The oddest thing is that these demonstrations are often some of my best work.” “It really is striking,” Tipton added, “the amount of good works I get while doing demos, it’s way above my success in the studio. A friend of mine, a teacher and artist, thinks it’s because I’m not sec- ond-guessing myself, not overthinking — that my decades of experience just take over.” Tipton’s latest show will hang through Monday, Oct. 16. And, of course, his works will be found at White Bird long after that. “Certain painters are synonymous with White Bird,” owner Allyn Cantor said. “Randal David Tipton is one of them.”