I’ve used the headline “Art All Day” before, and it seems to refer to a day like Thursday…a day filled up from morning to night with a wide variety of art work to consider, which for people like us is about the best possible day. We headed to Portland early and the first stop was the Laura Russo gallery to see a couple of Louis Bunce paintings…including this Portland view of 1939…
detail…
and while there we looked at the current Sally Haley show with some of the earliest of her paintings I’d seen, my favorite being this self-portrait from the 50’s…
but best of all was this pair of paintings from the 1950″s…one of Sally Haley’s and one of her husband Mike Russo’s. At that time they were sharing a studio and would often set up a still life and both would paint it…what fun to be able to see them both…Haley first…
then Russo…
I wandered in the gallery a little, being surprised by this BIG crocheted head by Jo Hamilton
this nice small Jay Backstrand…
and this BIG Jackie Johnson painting I loved…
coffee break…
…
Now we headed south stopping briefly at 12×16 to see Cary Doucette’s new work on paper…
and these sort of Matisse-ian cutouts…
In January of 2017 the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem will present a large show of the work of Portland painter and teacher Louis Bunce, curated by Roger Hull. I won’t recite all the Bunce details here, but let’s just say this…Bunce (who died in 1983 after a long life as an artist) was prolific. For an historian that means there’s probably a lot of stuff out there to see…if you can find it. Thursday we were meeting with with Jon Bunce (Louis’ son) who was very kindly letting Roger (and me, as his documentarian) see what remains in 2015 of the Bunce estate. First Roger was tasked with removing the clown…
That done we moved into the storage unit with a jumble of paintings and prints.
My photos were purely notational as the space was cramped, I was using my cell phone and there was one light bulb…but a LOT to see…here are some of my favorites…
We managed to see most of what was there except work on paper, and Jon (who was still called John when Louis made this drawing in 1951)
kindly invited us back…
By now it was dark and rainy and rush hour so we raced back to Salem arriving JUST in time for a terrific lecture at the Ike Box presented by the Salem Photo League…
which for this first in the 2015 series was a lecture on Salem photographer Kathryn Gunnell…
presented by the talented Kylie Pine, curator and archivist at the Willamette Heritage Center.
and the crowd was interested…
the images were fascinating…
early selfie…
Mama, 1942…
the old Thomas Kay house (long gone, sadly…)
and many many more…
it was lively and a fascinating look into Oregon photo-history. When Gunnell closed her photo studio in the 1930’s she painted her car with scenic views and drove around the state making short films of the scenic wonders of Oregon…some which still exist…
By now, even the intrepid were beginning to feel the need to stop…but what a day!
On The Way 
What a day, indeed!
One of your best blogs ever. Thank you so much for the photos of all this remarkable art.
I live in a small town in southeast Missouri so following you around to all of these different art venues is amazing. Thank you for sharing.
What a great day! I wish I could have been tagging along… but this is the next best thing. How wonderful to be a witness to such beautiful art. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Wow! Thanks for taking us along by way of this wonderful post. Now for me to go back on my own.
I’ll say it again, wonderful writing, wonderful life, what a privilege to visit and see the contents of a storage unit of a prolific historical artist…the Russo/Haley paintings were wonderful as the other favorites from Russo Gallery. Thank you, Bonnie.
Thank you Bonnie, for sharing this great day filled with Art Adventures!
bonnie, you and R are treasures. your willingness to share with all, and your gift at doing so…the writing, the photography, this blog is very much appreciated by us. thank you. (loved the car, the early selfie, and so much more.)
Breathtaking blog. So many incredible pieces. I have to tell you my favorite….your photo of your husband in the art closet. It is like looking at one of Picasso’s cubist paintings. Well done Ms. Bonnie! And thank you again for sharing these wonders. xo
I was going to say the same thing about the photo of Roger bending over the paintings, but shirley said it first. What a beautiful image. Thanks for it all. E.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Truly beautiful in all aspects! Ditto every last comment of praise! Thanks so much!