Tucked halfway between Portland and the Pacific Coast is Dundee, Oregon, a small hamlet next to the Willamette River amid rolling hills, gorgeous vineyards and country roads that wind through tree-lined pastures. For Romona Youngquist, these lands are her home and her subjects.
Painter’s Cottage, oil on panel, 30 x 40"“The whole idea for this new work is places you want to go and visit just from looking at the paintings. I hope people want to step into the works and visit them. These are my quiet places,” Youngquist says, referencing the title of her upcoming show. “I generally paint within 10 miles of where I live. It seems like during Covid I explored even closer. I would explore on foot, but also by driving. I found so many great places really close to me. Magical places. I sought them out over and over again. They were places you wouldn’t notice, unless you knew where to look.”
Quiet Places will open March 14th at Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona. An artist reception will be held on March 15th from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Youngquist will have around 15 new works, many of which key into the concept of home and where people decide to settle and lay down roots. “These images are my home. They are the quiet corners of my world and they are so beautiful. They give me an escape,” she says. “I recently got a lab puppy—they seriously shouldn’t let little old ladies get lab puppies because she has so much energy!—and to get her energy out we would go on walks. That’s where I would see so much of the world around me. Just below one of the vineyards here, there is this wonderful abandoned house, but then also these incredible trees with critters everywhere, including bobcats and coyotes.”
Foot Path in Fall Colors, oil on panel, 24 x 24"
Youngquist enjoys the spring for its abundance of new growth and wildflowers, and autumn for its fall color in the leaves, but she also enjoys the winter months when snow covers all the hills and a different mood descends upon Dundee and the surrounding area. “I love winter, especially since I can focus on snow paintings,” she says, adding that she has a large one on her easel now. “I love all the seasons, but I don’t really think of my work as about the seasons. It’s more about the light that is happening in the moment. That’s what I’m drawn to.”
Summer Poppy Field Study, oil on panel, 6 x 6
Backroad Study, oil on panel, 6 x 6"
Many of her new works will display the impasto texture often seen in her paintings. It’s the result of many thinner layers underneath to build up the painting, and then finally a thicker layer on top to show the density of the paint, the texture of the canvas and the depth of the brushstrokes. She makes it look easy, but Youngquist admits it can be difficult, particularly when she’s aiming for quiet scenes, not loud spectacles.
“I want the pieces to be subtle and that can be very hard to do without being loud,” she says. “Because of that, they can have some tension and some angst, which I like.”
Gallery co-owner Clark David Olson adds, “Youngquist’s work invites the viewer to a place of quiet repose. Her tranquil settings are colorful vistas coaxing your eye to step directly onto the pathways beyond the surface of her paintings.”
Bonner David Galleries 7040 E. Main Street • Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 941-8500 • www.bonnerdavid.com
Powered by Froala Editor
