POP! Artists
See our Gallery Page for more information on SALE items.
POP! Artist Stefan Savides
POP! pelican: "Birds of the Basin" – SOLD! (Photos by Kathy Larson)
“Birds of the Basin” POP! pelican was on display at the old Visitor Center of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and is now at Tulelake City Hall, 591 Main Street, Tulelake, California
Biography: Stefan Savides is an internationally recognized avian artist/bronze sculptor, producing works of unmatched beauty. His award-winning creations are so anatomically correct, the world's top carvers and artists seek his works for reference. Every piece is an original. The elements of design, emotion and anatomy dictate the unique impact of each piece. Birds are recreated in natural attitudes that depict an intimate setting of their life in nature.
For more information about Stefan & his artworks, see his website (Stefan Savides - Birds in Bronze. From Minies to Monumental). Included among his commissioned works (by the City of Klamath Falls) is his magnificent bronze “Pelican on Parade” statue now gracing Veteran’s Park. That bronze monument was inspired by the “Pelicans on Parade” POP! project. Stefan has a second “Life-size Pelican Monument” in bronze for sale on his website for $35,000.
Heartfelt thanks to Stefan for generously contributing to the “Pelicans on Parade” (POP!) project by donating the original design and sculpting the pelican!
POP! Artist Susan Liskey
POP! pelican: "Islands of Crater Lake" – SOLD!
Biography: Susan's Mother always said she was born with a pencil in her hand. She studied oil painting from wildlife artist Barbara Lund, then went on to George McMahan whose structure in painting and life-long experience in all mediums made him a winning instructor.
Susan has won ribbons at the Oregon State Fair, and at the Klamath Falls Fair (with winnings of Best of Show, Best of Division, and numerous First, Second, and Third places). Her artwork has also been exhibited in Washington, D.C. at the American Farm Bureau.
When she was co-owner of Clearwater Gallery in Klamath Falls (along with Dorothy Hale, Dori Pace, Judy Smith, & Donna Woolery), she taught classes in pastels, pencil, colored pencils, watercolor, and drawing; and she still teaches today! She never stops learning, and is excited to pass on what she has learned to others.
She’s done a variety of commission works for customers from Klamath Falls, Oregon to Florida. "That is what I love to do best," says Susan, "commission paintings of someone or something special in people's lives."
Method used for her POP! pelican: An oil painting of Wizard Island with Llao Bluff and the Phantom Ship.
POP! Artist Loretta Martinez
POP! pelican: "Glassic Elegance - Jewel of the Sky" (Photos by Ron Larson)
Biography: Loretta began a full time career as a glass artist in 1982. She was commissioned to create the stained glass windows for the Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church in Klamath Falls, in addition to creating many memorial windows in other local churches. Presently she travels to numerous art festivals in the western united States, showcasing her delightful, hand-built bird houses intricately painted with exquisite nature designs.
Methods used: Loretta used the Tiffany or Copperfoil method to create her original stained glass designs. A love of the outdoors inspires her to create designs of birds and flowers. For her POP! pelican statue, she used glass mosaic, creating a design of local birds, lilies, dragonflies, and fish.
POP! Artists Dori Pace and Judy Smith
POP! pelican: "Marsh Reflections" - painted by both Dori Pace & Judy Smith (Photos by Ron Larson)
Biography: Dori is a versatile artist who works with a variety of materials to create her art. These include Raku and stoneware pottery, batik, silk painting, silver and glass bead jewelry, fused glass and painting in oil and watercolor. She has studied glass at Hot Glass Horizons in Portland and Eugene School of Glass; Georgie's for pottery; silver smithing with Lauralie Barret; torch-worked beads with Michelle Benson; and watercolor with Emma Achleitner. She was co-owner of Clearwater Gallery in downtown Klamath Falls. For her side of the POP! pelican, Dori used oils to paint grebes in the marsh, and a trio of flying geese over the mountains.
Biography: Judy has been painting for more than 50 years. Favorite subjects cover a wide variety of wildlife that range from the animals of North America to those found in Africa and India. She taught painting classes at Clearwater Gallery where she was one of the owners. For her side of the POP! pelican, Judy used oils to paint a marsh scene with singing blackbird & diving ducks, and a flying eagle clutching a fish.
POP! Artist Gordon Ross
POP! pelican: "Klamath Gold" (Photo by Ron Larson)
POP! pelicans: "Klamath Union High Pelican" & "Kingsley Field F-15" – SOLD! (Photos by Ron Larson)
Biography: Gordon was well known in the Klamath Falls community when he worked for the Herald and News, turning out weekly editorial cartoons. He now lives in Arizona, retired from the newspaper business. He began drawing and creating art at the age of six. Over the years, he supplied illustrations for numerous newspapers, magazines, books and booklets. His work has appeared in recipe books, association publications, airline magazines, hobby journals, brochures, automotive magazines and books. His logos and designs have also brightened association, event, foundation and club t-shirts, belt buckles, sweat shirts, caps and jackets.
His art (pen and ink sketches and cartoons, oil, water color and acrylic paintings) are in private collections across the country. Gordon also served as the former art director for Crown Publications in Los Angeles. He wrote columns and did illustrations for Mazda Sports Magazine, in addition to free-lancing art work for ad agencies and the automotive community. He is also an author in both fiction and non-fiction arenas, with stories appearing in books published by Pocket Books, Barnes and Noble Press, Borderlands Press, Crown Publishing and Packard Press, among others. A collection of some of his short ghost stories entitled "Tales from Tidy Vale" has been reproduced on CD and is available from fictionworks.com.
Design Inspiration for the “Klamath Gold” POP! pelican: “The gold pioneer on the State Capitol Building inspired the “Klamath Gold” pelican – and the promise of the Klamath Basin area. The gold is also a predominant color of the landscape, and reminded me of sunsets over Upper Klamath Lake.” Note: Gordon used six shades of gold enamel to paint this pelican!
POP! Artist Donna Hooker
POP! pelican: "Leaves and Feathers, Nature's Expressions" (Photos by Ron Larson)
Donna’s pelican was the first completed POP! pelican, with an article in the Herald and News, Klamath Falls, Oregon: Limelighter, Local Art Scene, December 8, 2005.
Biography: Born and grew up in San Francisco, California. Current resident in Bonanza, OR. Self-taught artist, painting for over 40 years. Passion is painting on things of nature such as leaves, feathers, old barn wood, and natural materials. Has always been inspired by the beauty of nature.
POP! Artists Bev Fairclo-Ott and Daniel Rey
POP! pelican: "Rainbow Flight" painted by both Bev Fairclo-Ott & Daniel Rey (Photo by Ron Larson)
POP! pelicans painted by Bev Fairclo-Ott: "Mustang Moons & Tatanka Vision" and "Midnight at the Oasis" (Photos by Ron Larson)
Bev Fairclo-Ott Biography: Bev grew up in the Tulelake Basin. "It allowed me to see firsthand the migratory birds and animals in a beautiful high desert landscape," says Bev. Bev is a watercolorist & professional artist. She likes to paint vivid colors of dramatic images, often on a black background. She studied under various instructors, her favorite being the acclaimed watercolorist, author and international teacher Judy Morris with the American Watercolor Society.
"The joy of watercolors moves me to paint many subjects - including birds, flowers, animals, cowgirls, landscapes, oriental, floral paintings, and American Indians. The area in which I live is filled with wonderful bright light to paint by, and with so many subjects of nature to paint."
“Rainbow Flight” pelican: Bev co-painted her POP! pelican with artist Daniel Rey whose daughter named the pelican "Rainbow Flight." Their pelican depicts a rainbow, done in acrylics with iridescent highlights. Bev writes: "The pelican is a fantastic bird, gliding 2 inches above the water and riding the thermals high in the sky; in flight, you can see the gracefulness of this powerful bird. We are very lucky to see the pelicans up close in our environment. Bev says it was "bliss" to paint "Rainbow Flight."
"Midnight at the Oasis" pelican: The design was inspired by a 4-day float trip down the lower Rogue Wild and Scenic River, “Watching the pelicans riding the thermals, and painting the image in mind of a moonlight oasis fantasy.” “On the float” said Bev, “we saw a lot of wildflowers, river plants and foliage, which I incorporated. Also, in my painting are large river rocks, sand beaches, and trees. From the base is also a water lily pond depicting the yellow pond lily which is a native lily on Klamath Lake. At the middle sections of the POP! pelican are an emergence of my favorite flowers, with the sunflower at the top depicting the sun in midnight. I envisioned the pelican flying at midnight through a cornucopia of flowers, and since we are in a desert setting in the Klamath Basin, I called it "Midnight at the Oasis" after one of my favorite songs in the 60's.”
"Mustang Moons & Tatanka Vision" pelican: For this pelican’s design inspiration, Bev wrote: “I feel the Shaman’s presence when at the Tule Lake Petroglyph Cliffs with the Native American Indian designs – a mystical place for me. I love to paint the buffalo & wild mustangs that represent freedom to roam in the American West.”
Daniel Rey Biography: Daniel is originally from California, & has worked in a variety of media, including painting, woodcarving, & clay sculpture. He says "I have always been artistically inclined. As an avid young bird-watcher, some of my best times were spent in the wild areas along the Sacramento River, drawing and sketching wildlife."
When he moved to Klamath Falls, he opened the popular art supply store “Artizen,” & taught painting at Klamath Community College. His work has been featured at many shows and galleries, including the Madison Galleries & Caravaggio Fine Art in Los Angeles, the Morrison Street Gallery in Portland, and at the Klamath Art Gallery in Klamath Falls.
Daniel & Bev worked together to paint the “Rainbow Flight” pelican, done in acrylics. They said “We had a rainbow theme, and imagined the majestic pelican flying through a rainbow.” Daniel’s 6-year-old daughter, Brinhanala Rey, named the POP! pelican “Rainbow Flight.”
POP! Artist Leslie Rodgers
POP! pelican: "Sky Above & Sea Below" (Photos by Kathy Larson)
Biography: Leslie was born in Sweet Home, Oregon, and is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. She began painting and drawing early in grade school, and later attended Shasta Community College in Redding, California where she majored in art. "When you paint in a certain style, don't let someone change you," says Leslie. "Always create from your heart and what you feel, and that's where the art comes out."
Leslie had a gift shop in Keno, Oregon where she taught painting for several years, and later purchased "Frames-N-Things" in Klamath Falls, expanding the shop to include an art gallery where local artists could display their works.
Her favorite images are of whales and eagles which are her "totems." She especially loves the sea, and says if she could, she would live underwater. She likes to scuba dive, and has been inspired by undersea scenes off the Oregon coast and in Hawaii.
"Someday, I'll dive with the whales," she says, as she gazes at her paintings of Orcas, Humpbacks, and Belugas. Leslie’s artwork has been exhibited at Rare Woods Gallery and other galleries in Bandon, Oregon; and in private collections across the U.S. Among the artists that Leslie has encouraged is Bev Fairclo-Ott who has painted three of the POP! pelicans!
Design Inspiration for her POP! pelican: “My Native heritage inspired me to paint my Native totems of eagles and whales – both realistically, and as Native American representations.” Leslie painted her POP! pelican in oils. Her current works include tropical fish, turtles, whales, eagles, and flowers.
POP! Artist Fran Coker
POP! pelican: "Patchwork Pelican" – SOLD! (Photos by Kathy Larson)
“Patchy” POP! pelican is now on permanent display at the The National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky!
Biography: Born in Portland, Oregon, fabric artist/musician Fran Coker moved to the Klamath Basin with her husband Ben in 1997. Fran has always been intrigued by fabrics and color, learning to sew at a very young age. She made most of her clothes for school. Life kept her busy with many other things, but her interest in art, fabric and crafts never diminished. Everywhere she goes, she is noted for her artistic creativity even though she has never had any formal art training.
In 1989, Fran discovered quilting and that blossomed into a passion. She is a former member of the Northwest Quilters Guild and American Quilt Society. She has taken classes from various renowned quilters including Roberta Horton, but for the most part, considers herself to be self-taught. In 1996, she was commissioned to create a custom quilt for the “Women in Communications International Conference” held in Portland, Oregon.
"I can look at many things around me in nature and "see" numerous quilt pattern opportunities." According to Fran, "Once I get into my artistic design mode, it is amazing how energetic and creative I feel."
Method used for her POP! pelican: A découpaged, fabric-covered flying pelican, using authentic quilt patterns.
Specific patterns include: "Birds in the Air" (Upper Front Wing), "Lady of the Lake" (Lower Front Wing), "Oregon Trail" (Body), "Nine Patch" (Beak and Legs), "Log Cabin" (Back Lower Wing), and "Rail Fence" (Back Upper Wing). Each piece of fabric was hand-cut, and individually applied, representing nearly 80 hours of detailed application from her originally designed computer artwork of the pelican model. The “Nine Patch” beak represented Klamath Falls and the eight surrounding communities.
Design inspiration for “Patchy”: “Specific quilting patterns were chosen to represent our local area and the bird-watching opportunities in the Klamath Basin.”
POP! Artist Myra J. Hamaker Schelb
POP! pelican: "Aspen Breeze" (Photos by Kathy Larson)
Biography: Myra is a wildlife artist, and owned MJ Gallery in Klamath Falls. She’s won numerous awards at Country Fairs, and considers herself to be fortunate to live in the Klamath Basin where the abundance and variety of wildlife have inspired and influenced her paintings. She’s taken classes with Dorothy Hale, Virginia Landon, and Pam Stoehsler, and continues to develop her art in Acrylic, Watercolor, Pastel, and Oils.
Design Inspiration: “Quaking aspens are my signature artwork, and my design represents the beauty & best of our local scenery, mingled with songbirds.”