Stopping By: Art and togetherness
Phil is a painter who works primarily in oils and acrylics, often creating very large works on wood or canvas. He needs space not only for setting up an easel, but for storing his paints, frames and other supplies.
It helped that the house they found has a studio with a door opening onto a patio, so some of their nine grandchildren can paint outside while he works inside.
Another grandchild might be exploring creative interests with Holly, who this year set up her own glassworking studio in the garage. The space is filled with a programmable kiln, racks of plate glass and ground glass called “frit,” and areas to set or hang work by grandmother and grandchildren.
Visitors know immediately that the Juttelstad place is the home of artists: a changing display of Phil’s paintings hangs outside the front door. Currently it’s an oil painting of flowers, which Holly requested; his usual subjects are more industrial — buildings, cityscapes, bridges, etc.
Art covers the walls and surfaces inside their home, as well. Most are by Phil, although sculptures and other work by a variety of artists also are on display. Downstairs is a drawing Holly did years ago of Jack Benny — an indication that, like Phil, she has been interested in art all her life.
Their dual passion led them to join the local art scene when they moved here five years ago. They’ve shown in the Art Harvest Studio Tour, and Phil started a Tuesday discussion gathering for Art Harvest artists, as well.
IF YOU GO
What: McMinnville Art Festival, a new event
Where: Third Street, downtown McMinnville
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 18, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 19
How much: Free admission; artists will have work for sale
More: MacFresco will be in progress, with Third Street closed to vehicle traffic and dining, wine tasting and sales taking place outdoors
More information: artworksyamhill.com
That led him to found ArtWorks, which is the force behind the new McMinnville Art Festival, scheduled Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19, in downtown McMinnville.
Holly, the daughter of artists, grew up with her parents’ art store in the North Bend/Coos Bay area.
She drew and pursued other types of art as a child and teen. While in college, she painted storefront art to earn money for school. In her 20s, she sold some of her oil paintings and drawings.
“Then I ran out of time” to focus on art, she said. As she raised children and worked as an executive with Safeway, she was too busy. Later, she returned to art in a different way, doing craft projects with her grandchildren.
It’s only been in the last year that she’s been learning glass art, she said.
Her neighbor received a kiln from her daughter, a glass artist, and she invited Holly to join her in experimenting with the glass fusion process. A third neighbor joined them.
Now all three women have their own kilns. They still enjoy working together as they learn more about the techniques and multiple firings involved in creating the shapes and colors they want.
“We’re having a lot of fun with it,” Holly said.
At the McMinnville Art Festival, Holly will show off some of her glass pieces, which include dishes, plates and jewelry as well as decorations that can hang in the home or garden.
Holly said she is delighted to be creating with glass, but she’s also been satisfied enjoying her husband’s pursuit of painting over the years.
“When you marry someone who’s so talented, you support their art,” she said.
Phil’s interest in art also goes back to childhood. When he started college, he pursued architecture, thinking he would combine his interest in art with interests in construction and engineering.
But he veered toward business instead. Instead of designing buildings, he spent many years as a project manager for Safeway, constructing and remodeling many of the company’s stores in Oregon.
He had worked on the McMinnville Safeway several times; Holly had overseen the local store. They also were familiar with McMinnville because they were married in Yamhill County about 30 years ago and a daughter graduated from Linfield University’s nursing program.
When McMinnville put out a call for artists to create pieces for the then-new civic center, Phil applied.
He and Holly drove through McMinnville, taking hundreds of photos to use as inspiration for paintings for the competition.
He was chosen among the top three, but the city eventually awarded the commission to wood artist Monica Setzol-Phillips instead.
At the time, Phil said he and Holly had no idea they would become McMinnville residents themselves. But they were persuaded by their son, Grocery Outlet owner Mike McGinty, to make the move, which led them to look for a house with studio space.
While Phil had been pursuing art for many years, he said he made some very intentional choices when he decided to retire from his project manager job. He signed up for classes at Portland State University so he could learn more about art history and criticism.
“So I could evaluate my art as a cultural function,” he said. “Make it appealing to others and be self-critical. As an artist, you need to be aware of how your art looks to the public and to yourself.”
He also likes to study the work of other artists, such as Rackstraw Downes, one of his favorites. Downes works in a style similar to his own, painting urban and industrial scenes. “He skews the perspectives … it’s so unusual … I’m sort of in awe,” the McMinnville man said.
It’s a good example of the difference between a photo and a painting, Phil said. “He interprets the realistic scene, adds, subtracts or adjusts,” he said, making the scenes at once familiar and unique.
Phil takes the art of others and his own work very seriously. “I’m very fortunate to be able to continue my passion,” he said.
In his basement studio, Phil paints on wooden panels as well as canvas.
Wood makes his larger paintings quite heavy, but he said he likes using wood because it is sturdy. Paint can be scraped off easily, allowing another painting to be done on the same surface.
Wood also is much less expensive than stretched canvas, he said. In addition, the wood panels, built like a shallow box with the painting on the exterior, don’t need to be framed, he said. He just paints a “frame” around the edges.
He often has several paintings in progress at once. One is on his easel; others are arrayed along one wall, waiting for him to be inspired to finish.
“They are 95 to 99% finished,” he said. “They may sit up there a week or a month. Or maybe they’ll never be finished.”
Alongside his paintings-in-progress are several pieces of art drawn and painted by his grandchildren. Their work is at least as important as his, he said.
He also has a laptop with his files of reference photos, so he can consult them as he works.
As he did when he was applying for the McMinnville Civic Center commission, Phil shoots dozens or hundreds of images for information. He may combine two or more in his art.
For instance, when he and his wife were in London, he took many pictures from the top of The Shard, one of the city’s tallest buildings. One of his paintings of London comprises two vistas.
Another of his paintings shows a street scene in Spain with crowds wandering the narrow streets between buildings. Among the shoppers, Phil added his wife and daughter – who had visited Spain, as well, but weren’t in the original photograph he’d used as a model.
Holly loved it. She even had a print of the painting made into a case for her phone.
Now she can easily carry with her a wonderful reminder of her husband, her daughter and their shared passion for art.
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