(Above: Heceta Beach, by Mike Pease)

Edited by Randi Bjornstad

Here’s what the White Lotus Gallery has to say about its latest exhibit, Good Places: Drawings and Watercolors by Mike Pease:

To Mike Pease, good places can be found in nature, in places made by people, and in places where people and nature exist in harmony.

Growing up, Pease lived on a ranch in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and then in San Francisco. He feels equally at ease whether he’s in the woods or in the city. While studying architecture at the University of California at Berkeley, he used drawing to understand and capture the wonderful places he was discovering. In turn, the captured images helped him imagine, as a designer, new places for others to enjoy.

North 23rd Avenue, Portland; by Mike Pease

Although he first found success as an architect, a professor, and an urban planning and design consultant, it soon became clear to him that he wanted to devote his time to creating and sharing his art. By the mid-1980s, he had become a professional artist, exploring the world and looking for images to draw, spending hours in his studio, and showing his work in galleries.

In the early 2000s, Pease decided to spend more time with loved ones and to travel, and this exhibit reflects images that he discovered and created of these “good places.”

He has shown his works in solo and group exhibitions in Oregon and Washington, including at Opus 5 Gallery, Alder Gallery, Lawrence Gallery, Jacobs Gallery, Oregon State University, and Sunriver Resort.

As a pioneer in the use of colored pencil as a fine art tool, Pease also has participated several times in the Colored Pencil Society of America’s annual international exhibition.

His art can be found in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the University of Oregon, King Estate Winery, City of Eugene, City of Lake Oswego, and Northwestern University, among others.

White Lotus Gallery: Good Places: Drawings and Watercolors by Mike Pease

When: Through Nov. 16, 2024

Where: White Lotus Gallery, 767 Willamette St., Eugene

Gallery hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday

Information: Telephone 541-345-3276 or online at wlotus.com/

 

(Willamette Valley Farm, by Mike Pease)