Oregon Coast Council for the Arts (OCCA) welcomes Tillamook County artist Dennis Worrel and his “Landscapes: On the Wet Side” to the Coastal Oregon Visual Artists Showcase and Video Archive at the Newport Visual Arts Center (VAC) through Dec. 29. Watch the video that accompanies his exhibit below:
Dennis Worrel has a Masters in Fine Arts from San Francisco Art Institute and has recently shown at Portland’s Gallery 114. He has won several art awards including a judge merit and purchase at the Umpqua Valley Arts Association’s Plein Air Competition and Exhibition earlier this year.
Worrel was a member of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery for over 10 years. His work is in many private and corporate collections in both California and Oregon. About this new body of work, Worrel says, “These landscape paintings are of western Oregon, primarily the Oregon Coast Range. They are works on paper started outdoors and finished in the studio using mixed media including acrylic ink, fluid acrylic paint, graphite, and watercolor pencil. They were completed in the late summer and fall of 2012. I was brought to the town of Tillamook about fourteen years ago to work on the Northwest Forest Plan as a soil scientist. The job requires a good understanding of soil and landscapes relationships… one can find unexpected beauty, sometimes even awe-inspiring, in these dense lush woods.
“As an artist, I am attracted and challenged by the areas complexity of light, color, and texture, which can change dramatically over the day, and the ‘closeness’ of space,” he continued. “I am interested in our perceptions of nature and the places we reside. One of my influences is Chinese landscape painting, especially regarding how space and time are conveyed. My working process consists of layering marks and fields of color, adding and subtracting, covering and revealing, a dialogue connecting the outer landscape and the self. Through these landscapes I hope to convey a timeless sense of place where nature can exist in both experience and imagination.”
Worrel’s exhibit can be seen from December 8-29, 2012. The Showcase and video are available for viewing from Noon-4pm, Tuesday through Saturday on second floor of the VAC. Located at 777 N Beach Drive on the Nye Beach Turnaround, the VAC is also home to the Runyan and Upstairs Galleries.