I used the idea of stylized rainy weather to create the paintings included in the Courtyard PDX hotel rooms. First, I imagined hotel guests who, due to Portland’s reputation for perpetual cloud cover, might visit this wonderful city for the first time armed with only an expectation for gray dreariness. Second, I imagined the surprise and joy the same hotel guests will undoubtedly experience upon seeing the vibrant colors of Portland’s spring blossoms, autumn foliage, and lush greenery. In my paintings, the rainbow colored ‘raindrops’ of paint coalesce to form abstracted landscapes. In the first group I included small flowerlike shapes floating in color fields of stylized raindrops and river stones. In the other group hand-sewn patches of yellow raincoat material are offered as proud flags over rainbow dotted landscapes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating these paintings, and am grateful for the opportunity to share my vision of the city with visitors.