Artist shows works at Black Butte Ranch

Painter Lindy Gruger Hanson's work is brightening the Gallery at the Lodge at Black Butte Ranch this February and March.

Hanson was this month's guest speaker for the monthly gathering of the BBR Art Guild, explaining her process and how her art has evolved over time. Every month the Art Guild chooses speakers who not only entertain but also educate their listeners.

Her world travels have taken her to New York where she lived and worked for 2-1/2 years, winning several art awards. She backpacked around Europe studying other artists' work, lived in Baja California, and grew as an artist in artist retreats.

"I like to paint the world of the imagination," she says.

While Hanson explores the world in vivid color, we are transported to a magical world where plants glow, birds look both wise and playful, and all are defined by symbols that infuse their spirit.

Hanson learned to make her marks in the world, petroglyph-like symbols she uses in her paintings, under the tutelage of Peggy Zehring, an artist who uses found objects and paint texturizers.

From a grab bag of junk thrown on the floor to use as art tools, she learned from Zehring to be abstract.

"One of the things Peggy had us do was make marks," Hanson explained, showing renderings in her journals. "Everyone has their unique marks that they make."

She learned to be more abstract, not thinking about the work, but painting from her soul and her emotions.

"She (Zehring) said we should try to get rid of the critique in you and tap into your soul," she said.

A descendant of F. R. Gruger, illustrator for books and magazines during the pulp-magazine era of the early 1900s, Hanson spent time working in advertising while simultaneously working as an artist.

Hanson shares space with 14 other artists in the Tumalo Art Company in Bend's Old Mill District. An artists' cooperative, the artists all take turns running the gallery.

Residents had an opportunity to meet the artist during an artist's reception, January 30 at the Gallery at the Lodge at Black Butte Ranch.

"I like it," said longtime resident Russ Feltrow of Hanson's exhibit. "It's different. I'm an engineer, so I see things differently."

Katie Williams, assistant to general manager Scott Huntsman, and Joellyn Loehr, herself an artist, seek out the artists for the Black Butte Ranch Gallery. Hanson is their fifth artist.

"The displays are doing well," Williams said. "If the artists sell their work, we don't take a commission. Their being here helps us and it provides interest for our homeowners."