Spring Break
'Pan's Journey' stands out at Majestic Theater Art Gallery
Anna Swain
Issue date: 5/15/09 Section: Diversions
The gallery at the Majestic Theater is featuring art by Poppy Barbara Olson. Olson is a local artist residing in Corvallis, and works with mixed media, focusing on using acrylic paint and crayons, watercolor and airbrush paint.
Olson is also a practicing art therapist and hypnotherapist, and this profession seems to strongly influence her pieces. They are all relatively abstract, and when a discernible subject is present it is purposely portrayed out of proportion.
Her paintings try for a hypnotic quality, but don't quite make it. Most of them seem flat in the frame and the color combinations in some are problematic. She has a tendency to use a lot of puce in combination with tan, which for some reason strikes one as reminiscent of hotel room art.
One thing that is interesting about the pieces is the instances where Olson has featured saturated hues swirled with electric dashes of light. These swirls are just fun to look at and follow with your eyes, and look similar to a sparkler being waved around on a dark night.
Most of the pieces are pretty lackluster, despite these added points of interest. Two paintings rise above the rest, however.
The first of these is the piece entitled "Poppies," and is, not surprisingly, of poppies. The flowers are layered over a background done in airbrushed paint, which makes the oversized petals pop out of the frame. This painting is nice, but not really exceptional.
The second piece that catches the eye, however, seems to represent a moment of exceptional skill for the artist. This painting is called "Pan's Journey (Labirynth)," and unlike most of the others, it is done in intense greens. Though it is also an abstract, the impression of a slightly out-of-focus lush forest is created.
"Pan's Journey" also has a definite center that draws one in. This focus is lacking from Olson's other paintings in the gallery, and is absolutely key to the power of this piece.
Unfortunately, "Pan's Journey" is the only painting that manages to create an impact, and this leads to the conclusion that this gallery is not really worth going out of one's way to visit.
The Majestic Theater is located at 115 S.W. Second St., near the intersection of Monroe and Second Street. They are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Anna Swain
diversions@dailybarometer.com
Olson is also a practicing art therapist and hypnotherapist, and this profession seems to strongly influence her pieces. They are all relatively abstract, and when a discernible subject is present it is purposely portrayed out of proportion.
Her paintings try for a hypnotic quality, but don't quite make it. Most of them seem flat in the frame and the color combinations in some are problematic. She has a tendency to use a lot of puce in combination with tan, which for some reason strikes one as reminiscent of hotel room art.
One thing that is interesting about the pieces is the instances where Olson has featured saturated hues swirled with electric dashes of light. These swirls are just fun to look at and follow with your eyes, and look similar to a sparkler being waved around on a dark night.
Most of the pieces are pretty lackluster, despite these added points of interest. Two paintings rise above the rest, however.
The first of these is the piece entitled "Poppies," and is, not surprisingly, of poppies. The flowers are layered over a background done in airbrushed paint, which makes the oversized petals pop out of the frame. This painting is nice, but not really exceptional.
The second piece that catches the eye, however, seems to represent a moment of exceptional skill for the artist. This painting is called "Pan's Journey (Labirynth)," and unlike most of the others, it is done in intense greens. Though it is also an abstract, the impression of a slightly out-of-focus lush forest is created.
"Pan's Journey" also has a definite center that draws one in. This focus is lacking from Olson's other paintings in the gallery, and is absolutely key to the power of this piece.
Unfortunately, "Pan's Journey" is the only painting that manages to create an impact, and this leads to the conclusion that this gallery is not really worth going out of one's way to visit.
The Majestic Theater is located at 115 S.W. Second St., near the intersection of Monroe and Second Street. They are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Anna Swain
diversions@dailybarometer.com
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