Artwork / 2007

Gabe Flores portrait painted by Portland artist Gwenn Seemel Frances Kaplan portrait painted by Jersey artist Gwenn Seemel painting of a woman, custom artwork by Gwenn Seemel pet portrait painted by Oregon artist Gwenn Seemel baby portrait with tennis balls, painting by Gwenn Seemel portrait of a smiling woman, custom artwork custom painting by Gwenn Seemel Jimmy Radosta You Bag portrait by Gwenn Seemel Nick Seemel portrait painted by his sister custom art portrait of a little girl fine art portrait of a girl painted by Gwenn Seemel Megan Ward portrait painted in acrylic by Portland artist Gwenn Seemel Gwenn Seemel self-portrait with an octagonal window portrait painting portrait of a woman with short hair portrait You Bag custom art by Gwenn Seemel fine art portrait in acrylic Gwenn Seemel You Bag Kirk Reeves and his trumpet painted by Gwenn Seemel portrait of a man with fish, artwork by Gwenn Seemel You Bag commissioned portrait of a kid by Gwenn Seemel woman portrait by Gwenn Seemel Wade McCollum portrait painting in acrylic by Portland artist Gwenn Seemel

In 2007 my approach to painting developed in several ways. For one thing, I made an important change in my style. I began experimenting with including background images in my portraits in 2006 with pieces like this one, and in 2007 this evolution of my work made a splash with my conceptual series, Swollen.

Portland artist Gwenn Seemel with her partner David Vanadia
photo by Annie Seemel

And the growth continued with the invention of an entirely new way of working: my You Bags! This self-portrait tote is the first of my hand-painted bags.

Portland artist Gwenn Seemel in her basement studio, photo by Stephanie Yao
photo by Stephanie Yao with The Oregonian

Still, the most exciting shift came owards the end of the year, when I traded in this large basement studio space for a smaller brighter one. The new space was filled with light, both because it was on the fifth floor of a building and also because it was part of the first home I shared with my partner!