Coastal Waters / Desert Sands

Oil Paintings by Margaret Prentice

Exhibition Dates: March 12 – April 24, 2021

A native of Indianapolis, Margaret Prentice received her BFA from the University of Arizona and an MFA in printmaking from the University of Colorado. In 1986, she began her 26-year career in the Art Department at the University of Oregon, teaching drawing, intaglio and relief printmaking, papermaking, and artists’ books. After a long illness in 2009, the recovery process led Prentice to begin painting still-life with oils at the kitchen table to entertain herself. As soon as she could go outside in nature, she was captured by the variety of color and the quality of light and atmosphere in the space of the landscape.

In addition to painting the lush greens and infinite textures of the Willamette Valley, Prentice has been exploring the color palette offered by the Oregon Coast, a place she loves to visit. In October, 2019, a trip to Bend and Smith Rock State Park enticed her to delve into yet another palette, that of yellow ochres, sages, and burnt umbers of the high desert. Subsequent voyages to Santa Fe, NM, and Tucson, AZ, provided an even wider range of landscape geometries, textures, and colors like pinks, oranges and bright greens. Prentice recalls, “While painting in my home studio, my memories of each unique place took me to that spot again to experience the light reflecting off rocks along with the wind, sounds and colors.” After a year of limited or no travel for most people, she hopes to provide a temporary escape and share these memories with visitors to the exhibition with these new paintings.

In the press:
Ester Barkai of Eugene Weekly’s INTERVIEW with Margaret Prentice.
Click HERE for an interview with Randi Bjornstad of Eugene Scene.
KLCC Viz City’s REVIEW of the exhibition by Sandy Brown Jensen.

To access a “Gallery Walk” through the exhibition on YouTube, please click HERE.
HERE is Part I of an Artist Talk in which Margaret talks about her Oregon Coast paintings.
And HERE is Part II of the Artist Talk that focuses on the desert landscapes.

Please click on a thumbnail for a larger image of the art and more information.