Our regular hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and by appointment. 

Featured Artists

Our featured artists for the month of October are Susan Bourdet and Rachael Oehler. Their show runs from October 1st  through October 26th, 2024 with a reception on Friday, Oct 4th from 6:00—8:00 PM. 

More about Susan and Rachael’s featured work:

“For Susan Bourdet and Rachael Oehler, the birds, animals, woods and marshes of the Pacific Northwest offer an incredible, constantly changing variety of subjects. Coming from a shared philosophy and love of nature, it is easy to see the similarities in their choices of subject matter and in the sensitivity of their work, but they have evolved different ways of describing and expressing their love of the wild world.

One of the greatest joys in Susan’s life has been exploring the natural world with her husband, Jim, and her two artist kids, Rachael and Dan. The family camped and hiked most weekends, and favorite pastimes were exploring and collecting everything from rocks and shed snakeskins to leaves and dead bugs. Now that tradition is being passed on to the next generation.

Encounters with wildlife have influenced both artists, who always try to capture a feeling of connection with their subjects in their paintings. Susan says, “When I was about 9, I went to Girl Scout Camp. During a game of hide and seek with the leaders, I concealed myself in some dense stream-side willows. I looked up to see a tiny Northern Pygmy Owl just a few feet from my face, calmly and fearlessly studying me. I didn’t know what he was and he certainly didn’t know what I was either, but we were both captivated! Hiking In Denali, we were followed by a single black wolf, just curious, that tagged along behind us for a quarter of a mile or so. Rachael spotted him following, and we stopped and watched until he veered off like a ghost into the tundra. While an artist may never be able to paint that fleeting glimpse, there is something almost mystical about the connection.

Susan has been enamored with painting our winged and wild friends for over half a century. Watercolor is a medium where soft edges are created by working into wet paper, whereas crisp details must be painted dry. Susan says, “I’ve always enjoyed the contrast created by hard and soft edges, especially when I’m painting light. I like to place a very brightly lit area of detail against a soft background wash for a dramatic effect. Susan likes her paintings to convey something about the habitat or the particular experience she had in seeing that creature. She amplifies the detail in her work by using layers of color to suggest the softness in fur and feathers, and textures like moss and weathered wood.

Rachael’s soft, delicate colored pencil work captures the essence of her subjects. Rachael specializes in colored pencil because she finds it ideal for precision and for creating luminous tones and textures. Rachael says, “far from just involving the direct application of color, the medium requires many layers and many kinds of strokes to build subtle color shifts and textures”. Her finely detailed landscape work concentrates on the subtle textures and tones of the terrain, transformed by the magic of atmosphere and light. In her sensitive portraits of animals and people, she looks beyond accurate depiction to reveal something of the personality of her subjects. Recently, Rachael has focused on portraits of raptors that capture not only amazing detail, but a sense of the character of each bird.

John Mikkelson will have a selection of photos and new wood wall art on display for the month of October at Sybaris.

An eclectic Pacific Northwest Bistro, Sybaris is dedicated to bringing the best of Oregon to the table. Located at 442 W 1st Ave in downtown Albany, across from the historic Carousel. 
(541) 928-8157 for reservations (recommended)

Galleries from Salem to Eugene

Take a look at the Art Map of galleries in the Mid-Willamette Valley along the I-5 corridor. You can get a great new paper version of the map at Gallery Calapooia.

Gallery Calapooia Inc. receives support from the Oregon Arts Commission,
a state agency funded by the State of Oregon and the National Endowment for the Arts.