Creating illusions with color, we delve into the world of local Pacific Northwest artist, Spencer Reynolds, whose stunning coastal paintings are a reflection of the raw beauty and power of the Oregon coast. We speak with Spencer about his unique artistic style and the inspiration he draws from the rugged landscapes of the Pacific Ocean.
Spencer describes the Oregon coast as one of the most beautiful coastlines in the United States, with its dramatic cliffs, powerful storms, and resilient flora that have shaped the landscape over time. His art captures the essence of this untamed beauty, blending elements of impressionism with subtle surrealism to create captivating and vibrant pieces.
Spencer Reynold’s Website: https://www.artandsurf.com/
Transcript
Dirty Freehub 0:33
Hi everyone, an welcome to the Dirty Free Hub Connection. It’s Kira Corbett, and today we get to take a peek at a local Pacific Northwest artist’s mysterious and majestic coastal paintings. Our guest, Spencer Reynolds, specializes in painting with influences from the Pacific Ocean.
Dirty Freehub 0:49
Thank you so much for joining us here today. Spencer. It’s a pleasure to have you.
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 0:53
Thanks for having me.
Dirty Freehub 0:55
Yeah, I’m really excited to talk about your are actually. What do you find unique about the Oregon Coast?
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 1:25
I think it’s the most beautiful coastline in the United States. I’ve seen a lot of pretty coastlines around the world, and I think Oregon is as pretty as any place I’ve ever been. I just find the landscape very raw. And it just feels almost like violent in how the forms are just so dramatic. And, you know, there’s these crazy cliffs and there’s it’s it’s a little dangerous, you know? And when there’s the storms in the winter are just so powerful and so fun to watch. And how those over time have shaped the coastline, You see things that just fight so hard for survival to like craggy rock and they’ll they’ll be like a it looks like like a bonsai tree on it, you know. But it’s, one tree that’s doesn’t even have really much soil for roots, but it’s just like they’re surviving. And and there’s a beauty in it, too. There’s ocean and storms are just pummeling them all the time. that forms almost like a bonsai ish beauty to them. And now, I mean, that’s very a sort of metaphorical of life, too. I feel like sometimes you can turn the hard things into beautiful objects and allow it, I guess.
Dirty Freehub 2:38
The first person through the storms.
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 2:41
Yeah, exactly.
Dirty Freehub 2:42
No, I can see why that could be such a big inspiration for your artwork. when you’re describing that, remind me of some of those San Juan islands up in Washington and there’s some really established like islands around San Juan’s and then you come up some little janky island I don’t even know if it was an island totally different landscape than like the other island. Yeah, it’s really fascinating how nature has its way, especially on the West Coast too.
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 3:06
Totally. Yeah. I would love to be able to like rewind and fast forward time and just see how things are created because I, whenever I’m looking at the landscape, I always have so many questions because I see things and you question things, you go, Wow, how did this happen? You know, and I don’t know, I wish I could. I wish I had that superpower.
Dirty Freehub 3:25
yeah, totally. And could you tell us a little bit about the style of your artwork that you do?
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 3:31
It’s rooted in Impressionism. There’s elements of subtle surrealism in it. After art school I studied a few years with a Russian impressionist painter in Seattle, and after that I spent a year or two in an art store and I was going through all the different little brushes and things I could find and I discovered scrape brushes, and I kind of fell in love with them. They’re they’re sort of like, sort of like not quite a pinstripe brush, but you can get really nice lines with them. And I just they’re really long bristle brushes and for the longest time, that’s like my main brush that I used. I kind of I kind of broadened out from that now, But that was definitely my, main thing I would paint with for at least a decade.
Dirty Freehub 4:16
And you mostly focus on painting.
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 4:18
Yeah, yeah, I do a little bit of digital art and I do a little bit of pen and ink and I’d like to do a little bit more screen printing art prints and things like that. But mostly I’m an oil painter and it’s I’ve been oil painting for 30 years now.
Dirty Freehub 4:33
Wow. Wow. That’s very cool. And all in the Pacific Northwest.
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 4:38
Well, I lived for a little while. I lived in Australia, in Hawaii, but mostly I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest in kind of like southern Oregon. Eugene and Portland and Seattle are primarily the places I’ve lived.
Dirty Freehub 4:52
How do you create this style art? Because like with your art specifically, when I was looking at it the colors and the blending and the textures were very like, unique. I haven’t seen something about just pops like that.
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 5:04
my dad was an oil painter and I have like a graphic arts background as well. So when you’re up close to one of my paintings, it’s it’s abstractions. But when you pull back, it comes together as a whole piece. And so there’s sort of an illusion with color that happens when you step back. And I think I’ve always been fascinated with that ever since I was even a little kid. Like if you got up close to a television and you could see like the red, green and blue, and I saw like a half tones of a newspaper or something that’s always fascinated me, sort of the illusion that can be created that when you step back, it becomes an image. And in regards to the bright colors, I’ve just I’ve always been I don’t know, they just sort of naturally come out of me. I, I try to I think more I try now I try to control and more aware. I know that if I do sort of like more muted tones in the background or in the surrounding areas, it makes those bright colors really pop. So there’s there’s different techniques used for that.
Dirty Freehub 6:08
Well, it’s absolutely beautiful and everything you are doing with it.
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 6:12
Thank you.
Dirty Freehub 6:12
Where do you find a lot of your inspiration for your work?
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 6:16
I mean, mostly outdoors. I you know, I, I love spending time outdoors. I’m I’m, I grew up surfing. And so primarily when I first got into painting, I focused a lot of energy on painting waves. And now I’m now I’m trying to paint. Like, now that I have a gallery, I’m trying to trying to be more of a landscape painter I’m just always outside studying form and color taking pictures and just totally be inspired by nature. There’s a lot of artists that have inspired me over the years, too, from many genres and things. But but yeah, I mean, mostly I just just look around and I see a lot of things that form and stuff that inspires me.
Dirty Freehub 6:57
Yeah, most have a special eye for that is I always wish I could do that. Is there a place where people can find you and your art?
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 7:05
Yeah. My website is art and surf dot com. Or you can do surf art. You can do either one of those. I’m on Instagram at Spencer Reynolds artist, those are two of my primary
Dirty Freehub 7:16
Cool. Thank you.
Spencer Reynolds – Artist 7:17
Yeah, thanks for having me.
