Helen Brown Selected as Old Mill District’s 2024 Winter Art Series Artist

Tumalo Art Co. watercolorist’s work highlights district’s winter marketing campaign

The Old Mill District has selected Tumalo Art Co.’s Helen Brown as the featured artist for the district’s annual Winter Art Series.

Brown’s artwork highlights the Old Mill District’s winter marketing campaign on street banners, the district’s holiday ornament, the OMD’s annual winter guide, and more throughout the season.

The Old Mill District approached Brown, a talented watercolorist, in July during one of her art exhibits at Tumalo Art Co.

“The theme for my exhibit was ‘The Bend We Love,’ which included several works depicting the Old Mill District,” Brown said. “They were interested in a piece that had several of the iconic elements of the Old Mill area, like the smokestacks, the flag bridge, and the river. Of course, I was thrilled to be asked!”

For the 2024 Winter Art Series, she wanted to create a night winter scene, one that showed “the bright, happy lights of the Old Mill District during the season.”

“I love that I often see families enjoying the shops, the river, movies, and restaurants,” Brown said. “Three children building a snowman beside the river with the flag bridge and the Old Mill smokestacks seemed like a logical plan for my painting. … I love dramatic light and good contrast. The night scene helped to create that drama and high contrast between the dark areas and the bright lights of the streetlamps, bridge lights and the moon.”

Brown’s July exhibit delighted the Old Mill District, which was quick to bring Brown on board.

“It was pretty serendipitous,” said Beau Eastes, the Old Mill District’s marketing director. “When we contacted her, she actually had already started the piece that became this year’s Winter Art selection but hadn’t included it in the July show because it was a winter scene. We absolutely love it. The painting captures the beauty and magic of the Old Mill District not just in the winter, but at night.” 

This year’s Winter Art Series selection was created using Ginwashi rice paper, Brown’s favorite choice for her watercolor pieces. In Brown’s view, the texture of the paper is what makes the artwork come to life.

“It is somewhat difficult to control the paint on this very absorbent paper, so I find that I don’t try to be super detailed and I can be a bit more loose in my work,” Brown said.

Based in Sunriver, Brown’s love of watercolor dates back to her childhood when her family would spend summers at a cabin in Montana.

“On rainy days, we’d get out the watercolors and create our own masterpieces,” she explained. To this day, those childhood masterpieces still adorn the walls of the cabin.

After more instruction from her sister, Brown’s love of the medium grew, taking her eventually to workshops through groups such as Art in the Mountains and the Watercolor Society of Oregon. Despite a few years in between where she taught French in high schools and community colleges, including a stint in Sydney, Australia, her love of art remained.

Once she retired after 15 years of freelance design work, she started painting seriously. In 2010, she joined Tumalo Art Co. in the Old Mill District as a member artist.

“So you could say that this is my third career,” she said.

The Old Mill District Winter Art Series is now in its eighth year. Past featured artists include Lisa and Lori Lubbesmeyer (2017), Kathy Deggendorfer (2020) and Lindsay Gilmore (2023).

Brown is thrilled to be a member of this elite crew of local artists asked to showcase their skills on a wide scale. But more to the point, Brown loves the patterns, shapes, and unique textures she uses to tell a story.

“I love the spontaneity of watercolor and how the colors run, mix, and mingle to create really gorgeous, sometimes unexpected, results,” Brown said.