Saturday, April 7, 2012

Pancakes and Booze: PDX Eat Your Heart Out


Pancakes and Booze Art Show. Photo by FosterPhotoGraphix

L.A.'s Pancakes and Booze Art Show made its way for the first time to Portland, Oregon last Friday March, 30th.  This event creates an out of the box collaborative art expose giving fresh underground and emerging artists an opportunity to share their work.
$5 dollar door charge given to "Wonder Woman"
          Tom Kirlin, founder of the Pancakes and Booze Art Show, created this captivating gathering in L.A. about 4 years ago.  Since that time it has grown dramatically and he now travels bringing the exhibition to different locations around the United States. He has hosted the event in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Nashville, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas and now Portland, Oregon.  Kirlin plans to bring the show back to Portland this August and then on-going every 3 to 4 months. 
            Kirlin's inspiration for this show was to create an art event reflecting an atmosphere that stands apart from a typical art gallery showing.  Kirlin is often asked, “why the pancakes?”  He simply answers, “why not.”  The food fair offered,  pancakes and booze, contrasts significantly from the usual wine and cheese selection found at a traditional art show. The pancakes not only make a social statement but are also responsible for enticing many curious guests to these parties.  In fact, the show in Portland brought a successful first event attendance of around 700 people.   
            The Portland P&B show made it's debut at the Urban Studio located in the hip and happening Pearl District.  Guests poured in from a growing line forming outside the door from Davis Street.  As patrons entered the large and open studio, pumping rhythmic music was orchestrated by the DJ, welcoming everyone to relax and soak-in the diverse visual art environment.  Beer and cocktails were served, as well as all you can eat pancakes slathered in syrup, chocolate and fresh fruit.  Guests wandered and mingled throughout the space exploring the vivid art pieces covering the walls from top to bottom.  In addition, artists came with their brushes in hand creating on the spot masterpieces.  The optical stimulation of expressive artistic statements produced a feast for the eyes. 
           
Fine Artist Christopher Kelleher


Christopher Kelleher from Gallery CK performed a live painting at the show.

           Portlanders welcomed this show to their local art scene, and many of the contributing artists claim that PDX has been in need of something like this for a long time.  There are countless unknown artists constructing quality visual art that often gets overlooked in a big city like Portland.  Kirlin feels that art should not be exclusive to high brow events and elite sub-cultures in society.  Kirlin wants this event to be inviting and he feels motivated to create an accessible platform for every-day artists to share their unseen work to the communities around them.
 The P&B event in Portland displayed over 75 local artisans work.  The art varied in style; something was there for every palette.  Fresh Ghost Art, a Portland painter, shared his contrasting black and white geometric masterpieces.  Artist Sandy Peraza presented her work which combines an eclectic mix of graffiti, nature, and child hood nostalgia, using her common color scheme of pink and black.  Other creative individuals whom took part in the show included graphic image designer Chad Rea founder of Ecopop Helvis Smith presented her vibrant in color work made from recycled paint;  fine artist Christopher Kelleher with his masterstrokes both detailed and thought provoking and also myself, Jenny Rose, contributed some of my own abstract collection from my "Birth of the Voice" series.  An ongoing list of participating artists, artwork, and comments can be found at the March events page from last Friday's show: https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/210734319013516/
"Birth of the Voice: solidarity" - Artist Jenny Rose
            Tom Kirlin is onto something, he attracts hundreds of artists in popular cities by inviting them to be part of this event, and the participating artists share the affair with their friends using the most effective advertising tool out there: social media.  Kirlin then provides a gallery type show with an attractive twist and alluring ambiance; guests enjoy an entertaining night out and leave the event wanting more.
            Kirlin will be returning for another Pancakes and Booze Art Show on August 31st, 2012.  Due to the big hit reaction of the first show Kirlin will be extending the event to go on for two nights.  There is an art call for local artists in the Portland area to participate in the next upcoming show.  If you are interested in displaying your work or just want to attend check out the latest events page on facebook.


For more information and a video of past P&B events visit: www.pancakesandbooze.com.
All artwork submissions for the August Pancakes & Booze should be sent to pancakesandbooze@gmail.com with name, city of the show, and examples of work JPEGS and links only.

- ArtVigilante: Jenny Rose.
Photography by Randy Foster: FosterPhotoGraphix. You can also stay connected with his work on the FosterPhotoGraphix Facebook page. 

Artist Davey Cadaver creatively manipulating paint with brush and hands. 



Visit Cadaver's Facebook
Hillary Christen assisted Cadaver with his live demo.
A piece by Helvismith from her "deconstructed robot" series.
Fresh Ghost Art: www.freshghostart.com.