“Eclectic Oregon” is how one Newport artist describes her prolific portfolio of work. It refers to not only the various mediums she uses, but also the wide variety of subject matters that inspire her work.
Victoria Biedron paints in watercolors, acrylics, oils, and uses oil pastels, charcoal, pencil and graphite as elements in many of her paintings. The subject matters range from landscapes of the Oregon coast to still lifes, and from florals and figures to abstracts.
“When I go into the studio, I paint whatever, depending on the mood I am in and whatever I am feeling at that moment,” Biedron said, who paints in her studio nearly every day. “It’s a joyful and creative outlet and makes me so happy.”
She enjoys creating abstracts with the fluidity of acrylic paints. “I love to scrape and make texture and use tools to really push against the canvas,” she said. Abstracts allow her to dive deep into inspiration, intuition and experimentation.
Biedron grew up in an artistic family and took art classes in high school. For years, she carried around a watercolor kit but just didn’t know how to start. When she moved to Eugene several years ago, she started taking classes and workshops, where she learned the fundamentals of painting and became part of the city’s art community. It was there she started a plein air group.
“Plein air is very different because you are creating in nature and in the elements,” Biedron said. “You make an impression of what you see out there, edit it down to a pleasing composition and then paint what is important to you.” Biedron loves painting directly from nature and is inspired by the mood of clouds, the texture of the earth, and the sparkle of waterways, which keep her paintings fresh and in the moment. She is considering starting a Lincoln County plein air painter’s guild as well.
Biedron has painted thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of paintings over the years and has dozens hanging in her home. “I like looking at my own art,” she said. “I love seeing it on my walls and seeing how I’ve learned a few things along the way.”
She focuses on a different emotion when she paints and tries to express that emotion in her work. She uses a lot of blues, teals and turquoise colors. “Those colors evoke joyful feelings for me. I like to think people can feel that too.”
But not all of her paintings have been successful. “I get the normal blocks that everyone gets and sometimes can’t get over,” Biedron said. “Sometimes, if I paint a clinker, I just throw it out or start over. It’s all in the process of learning.”
All of her work is for sale. Biedron currently has two paintings on display at the Chessman Gallery at the Lincoln Center Cultural Center, and several at the McKenzie Orchards Bed and Breakfast Inn in Eugene and the COVE Gallery in the News-Times. She posts many of her paintings on her Victoria Biedron Artist Facebook page, @AwakeArt11.
“I’ve always been a creator and am always creating,” Biedron said. “My art supports my life.”
