Exhibits can also be viewed online at artcentereast.org thanks to a partnership with John J. Howard Real Estate.

Art Center East galleries are open to the public and admission is always free.

The Art Center East Main Gallery is the an international fine art exhibit space in Union County. It is a community-supported gallery, funded by Art Center East memberships and private donors. Exhibiting artists of all mediums are juried by the Gallery Committee in order to show their work in the Main Gallery. Exhibits typically run for 2 months.

The Main Gallery also hosts a selection of annual group exhibits, including:

  • The Big: ACE Annual Open Exhibit
  • Eastern Oregon University’s Junior (art majors and minors) Exhibit

All exhibits are free and open to the public.

 

Gallery hours:

Wednesday-Friday noon - 5 pm & Saturday 10 am - 2 pm

This September and October bring “Wildlife Moments”, an exhibit of artwork by local wildlife artist Debra Otterstein, to the Art Center East (ACE) Main Gallery. Community members of all ages are invited to attend a free opening reception at ACE on Friday, September 8 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Otterstein will give a brief, informal artist talk beginning at 6:30 pm. “Wildlife Moments” will be on display September 8 - October 21, 2023. A closing reception, free and open to the public, will take place Friday, October 20 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. 

 

Otterstein’s exhibit will include scratchboard and ink, acrylic on feather, claybord and ink and oil paintings. These realistic works feature a variety of wildlife and nature-based content. Otterstein derives the majority of her inspiration from her personal life experiences in the outdoors and moments that have touched her heart. 

 

 

Raffle tickets, available here, for an original scratchboard and ink piece by Otterstein will be available for purchase in person at ACE and online beginning Friday, September 8 at 6:00 pm. Tickets may be purchased throughout the duration of the exhibit; all proceeds benefit the ACE Gallery Program. The raffle winner will be contacted after October 21, 2023. A small selection of other original artwork by Otterstein will be available for purchase in the ACE Gift Gallery beginning Friday, September 8 at 6:00 pm.

About the artist: Ever since Debra Otterstein can remember she always had a love of nature.  She was raised in the mountains and valleys that surround Sun Valley, Idaho and she grew up enjoying the wildlife that was an everyday encounter.  Debra moved to Eastern Oregon not only for an employment opportunity but also because of the similarity of the area of her youth.

Otterstein did not find art when she was young nor did she know that she would be a wildlife artist; she had to discover art.  It wasn’t until Otterstein was in high school where, by chance, a piece of charcoal, in an art class, changed her perception and art has been with her ever since.

 

Otterstein received an Associate of Science degree from Boise State University but her art education is non-traditional.  Otterstein chose not to be University educated but rather to be mentored by a number of amazing wildlife artists.  Otterstein has worked closely with some of today’s top wildlife artists, Robert Bateman, John Seerey-Lester, Terry Isaac, Daniel and Adam Smith, John Banovich and Cathy Sheeter.

 

Otterstein is known as a multi-talented wildlife artist who creates works using a wide variety of substrates such as scratchboard, canvas, hardboard and even feathers.  Feathers are the more unusual item that she uses as a canvas but scratchboard has its own fascination.  Both require intense concentration, unlimited patience, a steady hand, and a light yet firm approach.  Regardless of the canvas Otterstein captures those special wildlife moments that have touched her soul and shares them through her art.

 

Collectors of Otterstein’s work are found throughout the United States, as well as in international locales as far flung as Australia and Switzerland.  Otterstein has won many awards in the Pacific Northwest Region and the U.S. and has been a Featured Artist in Oregon’s Oregon Art Beat program on PBS. Otterstein’s submission of chukars was selected for the Oregon 2022 Upland Game Bird Stamp.  Otterstein is a Signature Scratchboard Artist in the International Scratchboard Society.

 

What matters most to Otterstein, she emphasizes, is the subject matter —- the wildlife with whom we share this planet, “it is up to us to maintain a harmonious, peaceful, coexistence”.   Otterstein’s hope is that you will stop for a moment to view and reflect on a piece she has created and appreciate your own wildlife moments.

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