Artist Statement
I have always found that the process of creating a painting or print, either a single print as in a monotype or an edition as in lithography, is an intriguing, and sometimes frustrating experience. The experience differs every time, depending on how I am trying to produce a certain image. With each image, I try to go beyond the initial inspiration and invest the final piece with something a little different, either emotionally, technically or, hopefully, both. I find that most of my inspiration comes from nature. I enjoy interpreting and transferring what I see into the image I want to print or paint.
Artist Bio
Debby Sundbaum-Sommers grew up on the Oregon Coast, and in 1972 moved to Corvallis to attend Oregon State University. In 1975, she graduated from OSU with a BFA in printmaking. She now lives in Philomath where she works out of her home studio located in the coastal foothills.
In 1996, Nelson Sandgren, a former professor of Debby’s, introduced her to the monotype process that she uses to produce most of her prints. This particular monotype process produces images imbued with rich, intense colors. Debby also works in other monotype processes, woodcuts, linocuts and watercolors.
Currently and during the last 30 years, Debby’s artistic ventures have included working as a graphic artist, doing freelance illustration work, being an assistant to papermaker and artist Jean Marvell, printmaking and watercolor painting, and taking various painting and printmaking workshops. In the past she studied with John Rock, Nelson Sandgren, Berk Chappell, Gordon Gilkey, Mark Clarke and Frank Janzen (a Tamarind Master printer currently at Crow’s Shadow Institute for the Arts in Pendleton). She has exhibited in numerous juried shows in Oregon and Washington.
