About

    It may come as no surprise, that with the last name of Fake, the predominant theme that carries throughout all of my art is "honesty". My reluctance to do anything contrived or phony led me to the 'plein air' style of painting. I paint on site and use a very simple palette of colors that stems from basic art education.
I have never enjoyed depicting ordinary pastoral landscapes. Nor do I romanticize the view. I portray the world in the colors of direct eye to canvas translation. I open the perspective as an invitation to the viewer. When I'm outside painting I enjoy people being around the area going about their usual day. That way there is usually something to say about the location and the local community. This inner narration often finds its way into the compositions.
I prefer an urban landscape, using it as a scaffold to discuss the human narrative.
'Gordon's World' oil on canvas urban landscape by Phil Fake
I have always worked in oils. While at the University of Oregon in Eugene, I had a steel bike cart made to carry canvasses as large as 4 ft. one way, and as long the other way as I dare carry.
The cart also holds all the supplies, easel, palette and paint that I need. It allows me to work on a painting for weeks, or even months, on site.
One day, my wife and I moved onto a boat.
For 16 years we lived on the Willamette River that flows through the middle of Portland.
We raised our son aboard our 40 ft. navy Launch.
    
I converted the upper deck into my art studio and used it to paint large wonderful urban river vistas during the warmer months and porthole views in the winter.
 
Then the boat sank, capsizing in a winter storm.
         
I ran a studio gallery for a couple years after that.
 
Then we settled into a charming area in Rainier, along highway 30.
Now I look for the character of this little town, nestled on a hill, overlooking the ‘mighty’ Columbia River.
There are a lot of opportunities for wonderful urban river paintings here.
So, more to come.
 
Thanks for stopping in.
I hope you enjoy your visit.