It’s Holiday Framing Season!

Drawing of tree on bright green bakground with a red bird flying over it. Below the tree it says, "I'm dreaming of a green Christmas."

If you want something framed for the holidays, bring it in today.

Superior craftsmanship takes time, so whether you want to give gifts of art or add a piece to your holiday decor, this is the best time to get started. Drop off your artwork, photographs, keepsakes, and needlework right away to ensure they will be framed and ready in plenty of time. Need some inspiration or the perfect gift for an art lover? Village Frame & Gallery can help with that too. See you soon!

Framed pictures with the message "We can help you frame Christmas past and present

… and all the other holidays too!

 

Please note: Framing orders for Christmas delivery need to be dropped off at the shop no later than December 12th. We are open Tuesday – Saturday
10 am – 6 pm at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219.

Featured Artist Gene Flores

Colorful drawing of four skeletons on a horse, they are wearing elaborate hats and pants.

Watch out! This Portland Artist and Art Teacher is Going to Make You Think.

About the Artist

Photo of artist Gene Flores
Printmaker Gene Flores

Gene Flores was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, and earned a BFA from the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP). He also taught basic drawing courses at UTEP and served as the Art Gallery Director. He went on to earn a MA and MFA in Printmaking, with Honors, from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and worked at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art as a gallery preparator. In 2001, he moved to Portland, Oregon, to teach painting, drawing, and printmaking at Portland Community College and Clackamas Community College. He has been a full-time faculty member at Portland Community College since 2005. Currently, he is Dean of the Visual and Performing Arts and Design division at the Portland Community College Sylvania Campus.

See Gene Flores at Work and Learn about Printmaking

Artist Statement

All my works are self-portraits and are greatly influenced by literature, music, politics, religion and everyday activities. My images have been described as humorous, insightful, and disturbing. Viewers often find my work to be thought provoking and challenging. I enjoy challenging viewers and their preconceived notions of what we take for granted. Many of my works are playful thoughts and my reaction of the world around me, with mythological creatures and a combination of human and animal characters (logic and instinct) playing a vital role. I view my works as a window to another world with reoccurring characters and themes that tiptoe between the surreal and absurd. When making art, I play the role of the viewer and try to capture a glimpse into this strange world, a world where anything is possible and where anything can, and often does happen.

Gene Flores is Exhibiting Now at Village Frame & Gallery

See his art, along with work by Denise Sirchie, during regular Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm, at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219.

This is a magical, not to be missed, art show. Check this out …

First Friday with Denise Sirchie and Gene Flores Oct 2nd

Post card with close ups of one of Denise Sirchie's mosaic sculptures and a print of a bird sitting in a tree by Gene Flores

Post card with close ups of one of Denise Sirchie's mosaic sculptures and a print of a bird sitting in a tree by Gene Flores

 

Exhibit Opening and Artists’ Reception

Friday, October 2, 2015

6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Village Frame & Gallery
7808 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland, OR 97219

Open to the public, no charge

Denise Sirchie working on a sculpture of a fish in her studioDenise Sirchie, Mosaic Artist

“Therapy for my soul and mind were found in mosaics. I had always admired the media … self-taught through the help of books and friends’ advice, I became immersed. The freedom that the media allows is alarming: the reason I love it so.”

~ Denise Sirchie

Photo of artist Gene FloresGene Flores, Printmaker

“All my works are self-portraits and are greatly influenced by literature, music, politics, religion and everyday activities. I view my works as a window to another world with reoccurring characters and themes that tiptoe between the surreal and absurd.”

Gene Flores

Subscribe to Our E-Newsletter for More Info about Our Featured Artists

If you’re already a subscriber, you’ll be seeing more in-depth information about our featured artists delivered to your inbox over the next couple of weeks. If you’re not already a subscriber, sign up for our e-news now. We promise, no spam, just great local artists, events, and ideas for living artfully.

The One Souvenir You Must Bring Home from Your Next Trip

Framed photograph of a street in Venice

Skip the tchotchke, go for the good stuff — art!

If key chains leave you cold and you’re full up on t-shirts, it’s time to step up your travel game. Get out of the souvenir shops and check out the local art scene: browse the galleries, stop for street artists, and keep your eyes peeled for art fairs. Your mission? To talk to artists and find artwork you love that evokes memories of the place you visited or how you spent your time there. While you’re at it, keep your camera close at hand. You may find, as one of our clients did, your own work is the best of show. Check this out:

Venetian Courtyard Photograph

Framed photograph of a street in VeniceThis photo was taken with a smartphone by our client, Susie. No kidding. When she got home, Susie resized it to 22″ x 28″, taking care to not lose any image quality. She had it printed and brought it in to Village Frame & Gallery for custom framing. In this old, ornate mirror frame, it’s a gorgeous reminder of her trip to Italy.

Not getting such great results from your own smartphone camera? Here are a couple of tip sheets you’ll find useful:

Not sure how to do the resizing or other post-processing? Make friends with a good print shop–the kind that works with fine artists and graphic designers. They will offer color correction and other post-processing services, plus printing on photo paper or canvas.

Don’t want to take your own pictures? Tried, but didn’t get anything good enough to hang on your wall? No problem. Most of our clients bring in pieces they purchased on vacation. Pieces like these:

 

Black and white photo of old buildings on the canals of Venice
This is another photo from beautiful Venice, but this one was purchased from a street vendor.

 

Colorful print of mountains under a starry sky.
This colorful print was purchased during a stay at Mt. Hood.
Modern style painting of a European village with houses going up a hillside and a church at the top.
This painting was purchased in Europe. The canvas was rolled up for the trip home, then we restretched it and framed it.

What did you collect this summer?

We just heard there is a poster from Switzerland headed to the shop for framing and a friend mentioned a watercolor she bought from an artist on the beach in Mexico. What about you? Have a memory to exhibit? Bring to the Gallery and let’s pick the perfect frame. This is going to be way better than a slideshow on Facebook or one of those spoon rests that says New York City!

Digital Art Demonstration with Doug Hunt this Weekend

Close up photo of Doug Hunt

Friday and Saturday, September 18th (12 to 5 pm) and 19th (12 to 3 pm)

Postcard that says "Tradition Meets Digital Art, Paintings by Doug Hunt. One one side there is a digital painting of a river that looks white and icy then flows to deep blue at the bottom of the painting. The grass surrounding the river is browning, as if it is Autumn. In the distance is a dark line of trees and the sky above is deeply colored as if the sun will set soon.

Doug Hunt will demonstrate the art app “ArtStudio” on his 4 generation iPad. ArtStudio was developed for painters with a very painterly look, complete with dimensional brush strokes and the real possibility to turn your painting into mud if your not careful, just as in real life painting. It’s very user friendly and any artist would enjoy this handy little app both for doing finished paintings and working out ideas. Demonstrations begin at the top of the each hour, so get here early!

The demonstrations will be held at Village Frame & Gallery, 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219.

P.S. Plan time to see his latest exhibit before or after the demonstration as well. Tradition Meets Digital Art, Paintings by Doug Hunt is open to the public during the month of September at Village Frame & Gallery.

Tradition Meets Digital Art with Doug Hunt Opens Tomorrow

Digital painting of a river that looks white and icy then flows to deep blue at the bottom of the painting. The grass surrounding the river is browning, as if it is Autumn. In the distance is a dark line of trees and the sky above is deeply colored as if the sun will set soon.

It’s First Friday and we’re open late, come join us!

Postcard that says "Tradition Meets Digital Art, Paintings by Doug Hunt. One one side there is a digital painting of a river that looks white and icy then flows to deep blue at the bottom of the painting. The grass surrounding the river is browning, as if it is Autumn. In the distance is a dark line of trees and the sky above is deeply colored as if the sun will set soon.

This month we’re showcasing Doug Hunt and his new digital work alongside his traditional oil paintings.

Digital painting provides the artist with a ready canvas wherever he is and the means to bring expressive, affordable artwork to the public. Working with digital tools means suddenly having very few limits to creativity. Artists can create almost any canvas size, use multiple layers, make and customize their own brushes, dip into an endless palette of colors–the options are practically endless.

Stop in and see how a traditional artist is using this new medium to paint beautiful, affordable images. Tradition Meets Digital Art, Paintings by Doug Hunt opens Friday, September 4th at Village Frame and Gallery. We’ll be open that evening from 6 p.m. – 9 pm for First Friday at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219.

Digital Art Demonstration with Doug Hunt

Friday and Saturday, September 18th (12 to 5 pm) and 19th (12 to 3 pm)

Doug Hunt will demonstrate the art app “ArtStudio” on his 4 generation iPad. ArtStudio was developed for painters with a very painterly look, complete with dimensional brush strokes and the real possibility to turn your painting into mud if your not careful, just as in real life painting. It’s very user friendly and any artist would enjoy this handy little app both for doing finished paintings and working out ideas. Demonstrations begin at the top of the each hour, so get here early!

Artist’s Statement

Close up photo of artist Doug Hunt
Doug Hunt

As far back as I can remember (and that’s back further than I can remember now) I’ve always wanted to be an artist. I wanted to be a fine artist even before I knew what fine art was. As a young boy I was inspired by the great masters. Who you wonder? Da Vinci? Rembrandt? Well no, actually it was Walt Disney and “Big Daddy” Ed Roth. I cut my teeth on cartoon characters, hot rod art and psychedelic posters. Even in the military, I took advantage of every artistic opportunity and for a year and a half landed a job where my duties included photography and graphic arts. The other two and a half years wasn’t nearly as fun. It was my first practical experience for a lifetime career in graphic art, fine art and photography.

Commercial art and photography was the easy part, trying to fulfill the fine art dream was a challenge. So the path went like this. Three years at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham Oregon trying to figure out how to become a working artist… It wasn’t exactly the staple of the daily want ads. A couple of years doing freelance architectural renderings for home planners and 7 years as a part-time instructor at Mt. Hood Community College. In 1982 I took a position as illustrator for the American Military Club System in Wiesbaden Germany. If you’re surprised such a job exists, trust me, so was I! I loved living in Europe and absorbed experiences that would later show up in my work. I loved working for the government somewhat less however, so after a year I came home to resume my freelance career. The majority of my work was detailed illustration work mostly pen and ink. My fine art tended to be looser in an attempt to escape all the precise work I did on a daily bases. In the mid 80’s I began painting with oil pastels and paint sticks. Pens and pencils to paint sticks was a natural transition for me and with that my fine artwork became more impressionistic.

The dream of becoming a fine artist was never far from my mind and in 2001 I found my opportunity. I was picked up by an art rep and started producing 20-30 originals a month for sale nationally. I also got involved in the etching process and was producing hand colored etchings.

Whether working in oils or creating an original print hand pulled from a press, I find great enjoyment in working from my imagination. As I look at my paintings, I have to think that they are influenced by an underlying desire to escape, to be somewhere quiet and unhurried. My favorite pieces are always those that have a sense of calm … just a sunny open space and an inviting path to nowhere in particular.

 Digital painting of a river that looks white and icy then flows to deep blue at the bottom of the painting. The grass surrounding the river is browning, as if it is Autumn. In the distance is a dark line of trees and the sky above is deeply colored as if the sun will set soon.

 

Are You Sitting on an Heirloom?

Colorful bouquet of embroidered flowers, matted and framed.

Embroidered chair covers made by Grandma get a new life at Village Frame & Gallery

Colorful bouquet of embroidered flowers, matted and framed.A few months ago, a customer brought us six lovely hand-embroidered chair covers. Could we preserve them? She wanted to present them as gifts to her grandchildren. What a great idea!

Of Grandmas and Embroidered Chair Covers: A Brief History

During the 16th century, embroidery became an essential skill for young ladies. Before marriage, girls embroidered samplers, which taught them letters, numbers, and stitches—all things a young lady needed to know when she married and became responsible for creating and maintaining clothing and linens for her household.

For some women during those centuries, embroidery became a way of expressing themselves artistically while fulfilling their duties as a homemaker. Although every wife had a great deal of day-to-day sewing, some took time to incorporate decorative designs on clothes and household articles. By the 18th century, a talented embroiderer could get work sewing for her neighbors in exchange for money or goods. If you think of it, this “women’s work” is rather inspiring. As they did in quilting, knitting, and other practical arts, through embroidery, women made the functional beautiful.

Well into the middle of the last century, embroidery was a way for women earn a bit of income or stitch art into everyday life. You may have cushions, upholstery, or linens created by your grandmother or great-grandmother, that have borne witness to your family history for generations. Imagine how many times her needle passed in and out of that cloth … Can you picture her choosing a design? Deciding on colors? The many hours it took to complete each piece?

Is It Time to Give Grandma’s Work a Place of Honor in Your Home?

With proper preservation, chair covers can survive for generations. Long after the useful life of the chair is over, your family will be able to enjoy Grandma’s needlework—as art!

Feeling inspired? Bring your heirloom chair covers to Village Frame & Gallery for needlework conservation treatment and framing. We’re open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm, at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219.

Colorful red and blue bouquet embroidered on a chair cover

Colorful bouquet of red and blue flowers embroidered onto a chair cover, matted and framed

Colorful bouquet of embroidered flowers

Colorful bouquet of embroidered flowers, matted and framed.

Embroidered bouquet of blue flowers

Chair cover embroidered with bouquet of blue flowers, matted and framed


 

Various shops turn needlepoint into pillows; very few offer to frame them. Only one shop, in my opinion, does the latter as it should be done: Village Frame and Gallery. Their artful framing greatly enhances my work, through their time consuming, labor intensive blocking, their wide selection of exquisite frames and mats, plus the highest quality preservation glass. Their work is unequaled this side of a major museum.

–Arthur Henry

Art Inventory Blowout Sale, Framing Coupons and Kids Drawing – Oh My!

Come to the Village Saturday for Multnomah Days!

Art Sale in the Village

Huge savings on all inventory! 25% to 75% off framed fine art originals and reproductions!!  And all mirrors 75% off!!

Artists including Jeanette Nuxoll, Jerry Hammel, Natalya Romanovsky, Richard Hall, Linda Griffin, Didier Lourenco and many more!!

10 – 4 pm at the Meals on Wheels Building
7710 SW 31st at Capitol Hwy., Portland, Oregon, 97219

Visit our Booth at Multnomah Days!

  • 75% OFF selected art posters, prints and photographs!
  • Pick up your coupon for 10% OFF custom framing!
  • KIDS! Enter to win a 130 piece ART SET! Drawing will be held at 4:00 pm, you don’t have to be present to win.
  • The Gallery will be closed during Multnomah Days. Should you need to pick up a custom framing order, please find us at our booth and we’ll be happy to retrieve your order!

 

Don’t miss all the savings and special events in Multnomah Village this month. Follow the Multnomah Village Facebook page for updates and insider information.

Colorful poster listing Multnomah Days events. For something more accessible, follow the Multnomah Village page on Facebook.

Featured Artist Susan Koch

An award-winning watercolorist, Koch tries to evoke a place of familiarity or belonging—a feeling of “being home.”

Photograph of Susan Koch standing next to an exhibit of her paintings.
Susan Koch

Painting began as a childhood passion for Susan. As far back as she can remember she was intrigued with drawing what she saw. She always knew painting was what she would do with her life and was determined to go to art school.

She studied watercolor at the American Academy of Art in Chicago under the late Irving Shapiro, one of the great watercolor artists of our time. Right out of art school, she found a job as a professional artist—doing graphic design for Yellow Pages ads.

With the exception of a few years after her second daughter was born, Susan has been painting all her adult life.

“I have to do it,” she says. “It’s too much a part of me. I’ll never retire because I’ll always be painting.”

Since then, she has won many awards, including “Best of Show” and “Peoples’ Choice” several years running in the Watercolor Society of Oregon annual shows.

Susan now devotes herself painting what she finds meaningful.

“Art is an expression of a deeper spiritual need,” she explains.

She draws her subject matter from the world around her, painting detailed landscapes, florals, and still lifes. She also creates beaded jewelry featuring complex, luminous designs.

“For me, what captures my interest in a scene is the quality and angle of light. It changes constantly and with that change comes the challenge.”

She has lived in many places around the country but favors the Pacific Northwest. She lived for 10 years on the Oregon coast, and several more in central Oregon, but the romance of the farms and vineyards of the Willamette Valley called to her. Today she lives just west of Portland.

Photo of Dee Anderson in front of some of her paintings
Dee Anderson

See the Works of Susan Koch at Village Frame & Gallery

Her exhibit, along with the works of Dee Anderson, is on display throughout the month of August. Stop by during regular Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm, at 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219.

In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of Susan’s artwork:

Watercolor painting of historic home on a hill
By Susan Koch

 

Elaborately beaded bracelet in turquoise, pinks, green
Bead Bracelet by Susan Koch

Village Frame & Gallery, 7808 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219 ● (503) 245-8001
Open Tuesday - Friday, 10am - 5pm, and Saturday 10am - 4pm, or by appointment.