raina verhey
Raina Verhey, 25, is a Georgia-born oil painter, focused on landscapes of the
American West. Her work as a painter began in 2019 shortly after
arriving in the mountain town of Sisters, Oregon with nothing to her
name but a 1982 Volvo and a stack of art supplies. Totally self-taught,
she carved out a style informed by movement, composition and color
theory, burgeoning series of highly abstract paintings that sold
quickly. She coined her style "Emotional Impressionism" and explored
themes of grief, hope and regrowth. In 2022 she made an entrance into
the art scene in Sisters, Oregon by being featured as Artist of the Year
for The Barn in Sisters, showing 6 large works painted on birch panel
and selling in auction in 2023. In the Fall of 2022 she packed up her
car and headed east towards Utah, hoping to find new inspiration in the
red lands. Spring of 2024 brought her first series of Western
Landscapes, informed by interspersed months living in her car in the
dust, wind, and sunshine, paintbrush in hand. Her work now focuses on
the High Deserts of the American West, on rock and brush and open sky
and is released in collections quarterly. Verhey
now lives in Bend, Oregon and works out of a downtown studio that can
be visited upon appointment. Find her work in person or through
SPACEINCOMMON.com.
2018, January - March : Artist Residency at The Greenwood Estate. Guided residency focusing on the roots of creativity, community living, and business growth as a creative.
2022, Featured Artist at The Barn in Sisters.
2023, Solo Exhibit at The Campbell Gallery.Sisters, Oregon. Folk Festival Building.
2023, Summer. Featured Artist for Bend Magazine.
2024, August. Solo Exhibit at Space in Common.Sisters, Oregon.
2024, September. Group Exhibit at Space in Common.Sisters, Oregon.
2024, December. Coors Young Guns + Western Stock Show. 6 paintings accepted and displayed in Denver, Colorado.
ARTIST STATEMENT
greetings! my name is Raina Verhey, I am the artist behind the works you see here. If I were to attribute one defining factor to my work, it is the study of the sacred mundane. I am drawn to the little alters that hold memory and story, corners of the earth that could easily go unnoticed. While I do occasionally partake in a sweeping landscape, it is the micro that grips me. I work in themes of juxtaposition that expresses both the natural and supernatural truths that shape our lives as humans. It is my work to hold space through a painting for spirit and truth, recalling the fervent spirit, ancestral knowledge and ancient wisdom that is so easily lost in the modern age of information. All paintings are sourced from time on the road and in the backcountry - my life is now structured around my quarterly rambles through the American West, fueled by my now-infamous coffee pours in the desert. I live in Bend, Oregon with my partner Matt and our English Lab, Pip and work in a shared artist studio downtown.