Hi.
Welcome to the Ozone and our adventures!
Welcome to the Ozone and our adventures!
We sadly announce the passing of a good friend and great artist, Jeff Nichols. We were honored to know him and to present his artwork at the Ozone for 8 years. He was the first artist to officially join the gallery and there is a tangible void without his work here. Rest in peace, Jeff, we will really miss you.
The Ozone has endeavored to bring to the viewer both contemporary art and traditional perspectives of our locale. Jeff Nichols embodies both of these arenas in his past and present bodies of work. Above is 'Too Much Wine', a newer expression of Jeff's more abstract tendencies. The paint application is heavy against a scored and textured background creating a moody scape.
To observe Jeff's technical oil painting skill, one only needs to inspect any of the more classical style canvases he has at the Ozone. Layers of oil paint build dynamic landscapes that drop the viewer right into the scene. Instead of the 'flash bulb moment' where everything seems frozen in time, Jeff paints in atmosphere and movement more like what the eye would see.
As mentioned above, one can see the blurred action of the waves in this piece featuring the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. It's a Newport treat to see this scene live and rendered in full glory.
Jeff was referred to the Ozone by a mutual friend before the gallery was even finished. Not only was Jeff talented and local, he had an incredible and moving body of work depicting favorite spots on the Oregon coastline.
When Jeff joined the Ozone, he was a literal neighbor down the street. Now Jeff resides near Portland creating an edgier body of work than when he lived at the sea. Both voices are a pleasure and are happily on exhibit at the Ozone.
