Past Exhibits
David MacLane & Donald MacLane
“MacLanes in the Abstract”
April 10th – May 28th, 2005
“I particularly enjoy the differing challenges of abstracts and many of my paintings … are abstract. All my work gives me creative pleasure, but I especially enjoy abstracts since I feel they are particularly ‘mine.’
I grew up during the Great Depression in a family interested in and participating in the arts, especially literature, music, and visual arts, with an emphasis on painting. In school I had the usual art classes and was exposed to painting in watercolors. I enjoyed it, but found water colors a difficult medium to handle.
In the 1960’s both my wife and I studied landscape painting in oils with a well-known Massachusetts artist, Loring Coleman. However, increasing demands on me as a professional educational administrator forced me to suspend painting for many years. Upon retirement in 1987, we moved to the Portland area. However, painting was still delayed by my wife’s terminal illness.
In 1993 I was finally able to return to painting. In the earlier part of this period, my work was totally of landscapes and still lifes. However, in 1996, I began to do abstracts due to a chance event. One day an artist friend took one of my landscapes off the wall, turned it upside down and sideways, saying ‘It works in any orientation.’ Stimulated by this, I painted 5 different abstracts generated by that landscape.”
The exhibition also featured a number of abstract metal sculptures created by David’s son, Donald, a Portland-area engineer.
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
