Jane Luana Stauffer
A Lifetime of Painting
August 1 – September 27, 2025
Newport Visual Arts Center
Runyan Gallery
Featuring landscapes in soft pastels, large-scale sky and cloud paintings in oil, and recent small-scale coastal landscapes in oil and oil/cold wax medium.
An opening reception will be held on Friday, August 1st from 5-7pm
All are welcome; admission is free.
Jane Luana Stauffer returns to the Newport Visual Arts Center for a Retrospective exhibit and sale of her collected works from 45 years of painting. The show will feature her distinctive landscapes in soft pastels, large-scale sky and cloud paintings in oil, and recent small-scale coastal landscapes in oil and oil/cold wax medium. Stauffer’s atmospheric images focus on glowing color, light effects on water and land, sunset skies and clouds, with an emphasis on open, simplified composition.
In addition to her landscape work, Stauffer will present “Paintings from the Journey to Self”—a collection of seventeen large intuitive works on canvas which narrate an emotional journey undertaken during her years in Hawaii, in response to a mysterious health crisis.
To help ensure an enjoyable experience for all, we kindly encourage guests to consider attending fragrance-free in support of those with allergies and sensitivities.
Stauffer grew up in Corvallis and studied painting at Mount Holyoke College. After a twenty-year career in the San Francisco advertising world, she moved with her son to Waldport to be near her aging parents and focus on her art. Enthralled by the stunning Alsea Bay sunsets behind her old town Waldport cottage, she embraced soft pastels and in time became known for her distinctive “Stauffer Skies.” Her pastel paintings were exhibited extensively in northwest galleries and museums, including Coos Art Museum, Oregon State University, Art in the Governor’s Office, and selected for the Northwest Poets and Artists Calendar. Active in the local arts community, she served as OCCA board member and coordinator of the Visual Arts Committee. Following major life changes in 2000, the artist and her partner relocated to the Big Island of Hawaii. The spiritual emanations of the island encouraged Stauffer to delve more deeply into her art while secluding herself from public showings. After sixteen years, rumblings from nearby Kilauea volcano urged a swift return to the northwest. (Note: Pele erupted a block from her home several months later!) Stauffer, 79, who prefers her middle name “Luana” now resides on the Southwest Washington coast where she paints every day. She invites everyone to come to the show and consider taking home a piece of her art. “They’re my children and I love them all,” she explains. “But it’s time for these paintings to find new homes.”