An emerging artist, a nonagenarian painter — and a trip to the Oregon desert
Just a quick note this week about what I’m up to in the arts world
Booker Bartow
First, in case you haven’t seen it, my story on Booker Bartow ran in Eugene Weekly yesterday. An artist himself, Booker is the son of Oregon’s late visionary painter and sculptor Rick Bartow, who died in 2016. Rick was one of my favorite artists, ever; I interviewed him a number of times over the years.
Earlier this month I drove to Newport and spent several hours getting to know Booker, who’s interesting in his own right — and clearly an artist to keep an eye on down the line. He’s showing work as part of a group exhibit by Indigenous artists at the Newport Visual Arts Center through July 28.
Sarkis Antikajian
One of the most gentlemanly of painters you could ever hope to meet, Sarkis Antikajian read from his newly published memoir An Artist’s Odyssey: From Dream to Reality to an appreciative audience on Sunday afternoon at Studio 7 in Veneta. Unlike many visual artists, Sarkis knows how to write, and — now in his 90s — has plenty of interesting tales to tell and useful observations about life and art. It was a pleasure to see him and hear him talk.
Studio 7, in case you haven’t been there, is a small gem of a gallery out west of Eugene near Fern Ridge Reservoir at 87230 Central Road. It’s open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, and you can see a number of my landscape and wildlife photos on exhibit there.
And, at last, an escape to the desert
Between cleaning up from the January ice storm and helping the Weekly recover from the embezzlement, I’ve been too busy this year to get out and about very much. On Sunday, Taylor Perse and I are headed to eastern Oregon for a few days of journalism, photography and sightseeing. She and I have worked together on a number of stories for EW, including this opus she wrote on ranch life, and we’re now at work on a book about the Oregon desert. This trip, among other activities, we’ll be visiting Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, a fascinatingly remote and beautiful place in the middle of nowhere.
Happy Fourth of July!
Thanks Bob, I appreciate your kind words.
Booker sounds like an interesting artist. I hope someday I’ll manage to see his work, maybe in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum in Eugene. I have always enjoyed Rick Bartow’s fascinating work. I have a pamphlet of his work and I often look at the images in it with much delight.
You and Taylor have wonderful and productive time in eastern Oregon full of journaling, creating and exploring. Looking forward to seeing your new artwork.
Sarkis
Always enjoy your articles about Oregon artists!