Sunriver Scene July 2026 - Flipbook - Page 20
The joy in the doing: July at Artists' Gallery Sunriver
By Barb Gonzalez
French painter Claude Monet once said that he’d like to
paint the way a bird sings.
It’s a funny thing to picture at
first. A bird doesn't sing to win
a prize. It doesn't sing because
someone is watching. It sings
because singing is what it does,
and there's joy in the doing.
That's the theme for July’s
featured artists at Artists' Gallery Sunriver. Celebrate Second
Saturday on July 11 from 4 to
6 p.m. to meet the artists and
see their work at Artists’ Gallery Sunriver in The Village
at Sunriver.
Featured this month is multimedia artist Dottie Moniz. She
embodies Monet’s quote.
“Painting the way a bird
sings is what I strive for in my
art. To find that flow where
the art happens freely without
overthinking. Much of my art
comes from the beauty I see
around me, from my imagination and from memories of
my childhood,” Moniz said.
“The goal is to create these images from feeling and not from
thinking or trying to paint the
perfect painting. Thinking gets
in the way of playing, exploring
and enjoying the process.”
Moniz starts with the idea or
feeling she wants to express and
then chooses the techniques
and materials to complete
each piece. Some pieces lend
themselves to fabric, others to
papers, watercolors or acrylics.
Her pieces range from earthy
forest scenes made in fabric
to delicate flower cutouts arranged on wood.
Glass artists Jesica Carleton and Becky Henson are
also July’s featured artists at
the gallery.
Carleton creates bright,
richly colored mosaics from
abstracts to detailed wildlife
and stylized landscapes.
“I love mosaic for how it
brings individual and widely
diverse pieces together, the final
product being a whole new
creation made more beautiful
for all the unique pieces,” Carleton said. “I feel the same way
about humankind and strive to
be an advocate for celebrating
our diversity and uniqueness.
Imagine how boring art would
be if we only used one color,
and how drab our lives would
be if we were all the same!”
Carleton, her husband and
their five rescue animals moved
to Bend in 2014. She conducts
Debbie Moniz.
mosaic classes in Bend to share
the joy and the beauty.
Henson is a stained glass artist whose leaded glass pieces,
like her Three Sisters circle
pattern, are inspired by the
mountains and nature around
us here in Bend.
“I see the Cascades under
many different lighting conditions. I couldn’t resist putting
the view in glass and, like the
real views, no two projects are
ever the same,” Henson said.
She was moved to work with
glass because of a beveled glass
window in her childhood home
that fascinated her. Along with
suncatchers and hanging window art, her new pieces include
glass bud vases that sit in the
window or on a windowsill.
Dave Fox’s paintings will call
you from across the gallery and
July 21
August 18
September 22
The 3rd Tuesday
of the month
from
1 to 2:30 PM
Location: Community Room
Sunriver Christian Fellowship
18139 Cottonwood Rd
What is a Memory Cafe? Memory Cafes are welcoming social gatherings for all
people living with changes in their memory or thinking, and the people who care about
them. For any questions or more information, please contact:
cognitiveconnectionssunriver@gmail.com
Join us July 21st
An Afternoon of Timeless Music
Talented crooner-style entertainer
Simeon Rose performs
familiar hits spanning multiple
genres and generations
Simeon is a talented vocalist who enjoys
bringing familiar music to seniors throughout Central Oregon, crea琀椀ng opportuni琀椀es
for connec琀椀on, reminiscence, and fun
through song. He has spent many years
serving older adults through senior living
and community-based organiza琀椀ons
Page 20
JULY 2026 SUNRIVER SCENE
Jesica Carleton.
will brighten
any room
where they
hang. You’re
struck by
the quality
of light captured in his
landscapes
and the use
of bright color in both his
nature pieces
and wildlife. Dave Fox.
“I’m drawn
to the way light transforms a
scene and creates a connection,” Fox said. “While my
colors are often more vivid than
what you’d see in a photograph,
I still want them to feel believable. My goal isn’t to paint an
exact copy of a place. It’s to capture the feeling of being there.
If a viewer looks at a painting
and feels the warmth of the
sun, the coolness of the shade
or a memory of a place they’ve
loved, then I’ve succeeded.”
Fox shared that a great deal of
his thinking happens before he
ever puts a brush on the canvas.
“I spend a great deal of time
creating the reference photo,
Becky Henson.
finding the right composition,
simplifying the scene, and deciding what I want the painting
to say. Once the groundwork
is done, I'm not constantly
analyzing every decision. I'm
simply responding to what's
in front of me,” he shared. “I
think that's the closest I come
to painting the way a bird sings.
The preparation is important,
but when the painting is going
well, the process feels natural
and unforced. The planning
fades into the background, and
the painting seems to find its
own rhythm.”
Visit artistsgallerysunriver.
com for gallery hours and additional information.
