Next weekend Oregon City celebrates it`s famous waterfall with the Willamette Falls Festival. I`ll be joining many other painters doing plein air work at various sites near the waterfront. I`m ashamed to say I lived in Oregon a good ten years before I ever visited Oregon City and saw it`s dense industrial core. Visually, it was like nothing I had ever seen. The paper mills, hydroelectric facilities and shipping locks were monumental and ancient looking, incredibly complex and spewing lots of noise and steam. With those beautiful falls a bit beyond supplying the power. It was gritty and muscular and very moving to see from up along the promenade that follows the contour of the bluff rising behind it. Sadly, the Blue Heron Paper Mill closed a couple of years ago and many jobs were lost. The huge site is now being reviewed for development and restoration. My hope is it will include some affordable housing. I can hardly imagine a more exciting place to live.
On Saturday I`m touring the defunct mill with a guided group in the morning and then setting up in the elevator overlook at noon to paint the scene from above. Come say hello if you`re there for the party.
Portland Open Studios Tour
Oct. 12 & 13 Oct. 19 & 20
available work in the studio
3 comments:
Let's hope the developers bring in some artists.
Hi RT,
I wish I were going to be here. Would love to see what transpires.
Great information and links...thank you. Love the name of this work.
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