Cedar Lee Night Paintings at Salem on the Edge in March

I’m pleased to share that I will be showing 12 of my paintings as Guest Artist at the March exhibit at Salem on the Edge!

Mark your calendar: The opening reception is this Friday evening.

Opening Reception: Friday, March 7 | 5–8 PM

156 Liberty St. NE, Salem, OR 97301

You can see all 12 paintings under “Salem on the Edge” on my Galleries page.

From the gallery director:

We are thrilled to feature the galactic and awe-inspiring work of Cedar Lee in March as our guest artist. Although Lee has a expansive body of work ranging from beautiful landscapes to mythical archetypical portraits, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring her luminous Milky Way paintings to Salem.

Cedar’s art is an invitation to zoom out, breathe, and see ourselves as part of something much bigger. The beauty and awe our cosmos brings me when I am under the night sky echoes the feelings I experience looking at one of Lee’s paintings.

In a time when things feel uncertain, I take comfort from the reminder of what a big beautiful universe we are a part of, and that we are connected with something much bigger than ourselves.

Cedar Lee infuses her landscapes (cosmos-scapes?) with luminous pigments and dreamlike expansiveness, with the goal of reminding us of the interconnection between humanity and the natural world—a theme that feels especially relevant as we reflect on the role of women in environmental movements: which is why I love having her work on display next to April Water’s Sheroes.

Come be transported into the cosmos through her stunning paintings.

Artist Statement

In the past, I created a collection of fantasy space-scapes. I titled the series “Cosmic Dance.” In this collection of paintings, I combined my fascination with painting starry night skies with my feeling of wonder at being a resident of the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Each of these paintings features a different PNW mountain peak, identifiable by its distinctive shape. The magnificent Milky Way galaxy is depicted in an abstract art style, the billions of stars shown in paint drips and splatters. These paintings will appeal to people who enjoy the crossover of representational and abstract painting.

Similarly, my small paintings of nighttime foggy woods are the result of inspiration taken from my immediate surroundings, namely, Mt. Tabor Park at night. I spend a lot of time in this beautiful park near my home in Portland, OR.

In these paintings, vague shapes of the trees in the darkness are barely illuminated by the warm glow of street lanterns sprinkled through the park. All of these paintings are part of my exploration of the interplay between light and dark in my art.