Milton Wilson {1923-2004}

Over the weekend I went to the Portland Art Museum and discovered a real treasure—Milton Wilson. I had never seen any of his work, or even heard of him. His abstract paintings are so amazing that they stopped me in my tracks on the way to the Impressionist wing. They are truly something to take the time to look at. The colors are rich and layered with huge brush strokes, line work, hollow shapes over drips—endless textures.

#1016, 1963, Oil on canvas 63 " x 44 "


Untitled, 1969, Oil on canvas, 83" x 68"

After researching more on Wilson, I found out that he was born and raised here in Portland, Oregon. Following his death in 2004, Maldon, Wilson's daughter and the executor of his will, planned to auction off his entire collection of paintings with no minimum reserve to help pay off outstanding debts. (Watch the video from Oregon Live for more details here.) It is sad that these works will lose value due to the declining worth of his estate. Fortunately the Portland Art Museum treasures Wilson's work as much as I do and keeps some of his paintings hung on a rotating basis.

One of Wilson's works at the Portland Art Museum.

Unfortunately I couldn't find a photo of my favorite Wilson painting, currently on exhibit. You'll just have to take a trip to the museum and see it for yourself.

Brilliant Color

I went camping on the Sandy River about a month ago and was totally blown away by the scenery, more specifically the river rocks. I remember times when I would go to the beach and find brilliantly colored beach stones in the water. I would pick them up and have to take them home with me. But later, once I was home, the rocks would dry and all of those brilliant colors would fade to gray. It was always so disappointing to me. The river rocks that I found on the Sandy River were like the holy grail of colorful dry rocks. I was so amazed that I thought about building a color gradient with them. Then when my boyfriend Peter suggested it as well, I knew I had to do it.

Exploration

So much of what inspires me comes from nature. Whenever I'm out exploring I always take pictures of textures, landscapes, color studies, people and lighting, so that I can pull from these images when I return to my studio. Here are a few photos of the Oregon coast that have inspired me over the summer...

Dunes & CloudsDriftwood TexturesLight Photographs copyright Marisa D. Green 2008