Jill Olson is a mixed media artist out of Portland, OR working primarily with acrylics and oil pastels.
Drawing from the environment that formed me, I feel transformed when staring into landscapes that have been reshaping perspective for millions of years. Working with acrylic and oil pastel, my art is how I root myself in a world that is constantly shifting. Painting in contrasting tones, I build texture and memory with warm burgundies and cool jades, or winsor blues that fuse with red oxides. The dynamic collision of energy and harmony found in places like the John Day Fossil Beds and Smith Rock are where I go to paint what I see and feel. I am drawn to the geology of the PNW for its dramatic landscapes and stories written in stone and color. These places have rupture, heat, and upheaval, and yet they stand witness to the beauty that emerges through endurance and change. In their layers, I see echoes of my own history. I am a survivor, writer, storyteller, and artist. In every piece I hope you can sense both the strength and beauty in the richness that comes from a landscape (or life) that has survived transformation. It's how I root myself in a world that is forever changing.