Cole Gallery will open a new show April 15 of pastel and oil paintings by Amanda Houston.
Living in the Tualatin Valley near Portland and commuting regularly to her cabin on Lopez Island in the San Juans, Houston’s work reflects the lush, transcendent beauty of the Northwest she encounters daily.
In her second show at Edmonds’ Cole Gallery, Houston presents new paintings consisting of three themes: blueberry fields that are uplifting and bright; vineyards at harvest time, radiating color; and light and untouched waterways that are more meditative and melancholy.
For Houston, this show instills a feeling of completion and empowerment having undergone four surgeries in the past year.
“It was a year of healing and stillness and now that it’s over I am picking myself up again. Being in control again is inspiring,” Houston says.
As a tribute to her own strength, Houston completed “Blueberry Country,” a 30-by-90-inch triptych that captures the flaming beauty of blueberry fields in autumn, aglow with color.
“I wanted the viewer to get the same aura of sitting in the field with the energy of red all around, so I painted a triptych, unintentionally a first, but making a strong statement at 7½ feet long,” says Houston. “It’s my biggest piece to date … and I’m excited to do more of that.”
Meet Houston at Cole Gallery and enjoy dessert and live music by Fadadada at the Edmonds Art Walk, 5-8 p.m. April 15.
Houston’s art will be on display at Cole Gallery from April 15 to May 19.
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