Best Coast Opening at Future Shock in Portland | May 4th, 2018

Written by and Photos by Cassidy Maley

Once upon a time in the colorful, thriving city of Portland, Oregon there was a group of three young female artists. They united from across the country, with one goal in mind, to throw a badass art show in one of the neatest little venues in a cute little corner of the city. On May 5th the Best Coast art show opened for the month of May at the record store and art venue Future Shock, in Southeast Portland. This show was curated by three powerhouse lady artists with well known reputations from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest Coast. Miranda Thomas, Mindie Gum-Grivell, and Katie Costa are three artists that you should get used to hearing about. Their styles are very unique, and each artist has qualities that stand alone in her work. This made the art show interesting. There was Miranda with her intricate detail in wood burning and also nature inspired paintings, which sits in contrast with Mindie’s very graphic, graffiti style of painting. And there’s Katie’s work, which to me brings back some thoughts of a more classic art style, with realistic renderings of faces mixed with some graphic touches. The three art styles, even though they were different, did not compete with each other but rather, complimented each other. The work fit perfectly with the background of records and gave attendees another reason to tour the entire store.

MINDIE GUM-GRIVELL

Mindie is a self taught artist, which to me, is almost more speaking to an artist than one who has a degree. All of her skills are self-taught, and learned through trial and error. I think this speaks miles for Mindie’s character. She is one of the most determined artists I’ve had the pleasure of working with. She puts her mind and effort into something, and expects a result. Her creative drive pushes her, but I think it’s her business world background that has helped form the artist we see today. She knows how to put all of her ducks into a row so to say, she is organized and precise in her efforts, which are qualities not every artist possess. Her background in business has provided her with the necessary skills to not only create her art but how to turn it into her career. It is also the business world that really pushed her to creating art.

For her, creativity was in her heart, but practicality was in her mind. She spent years after graduating high school in Vancouver, Washington working in an office, and creating on the side while working her way up her career path. It wasn’t until she and her spouse had the courage to move across the country, that she was able to fully throw herself into art. Sometimes, it takes a big change in life to reorganize your priorities.

Her work and style really blossomed in the tight knit art scene of Indianapolis. She has a one-of-a-kind style, that to me merges the West Coast color palette with the outspoken messages of the plight of women in the Midwest. Her creations are bold, and colorful with some references to pop culture and graffiti. Much of her art features a female muse, and that has made it more and more relevant as time passes and the feminist movement is becoming current again. These empowering female portraits speak to being a loud and proud feminine voice in society.

She also has another series of work that is called the “Creatch” series. She uses these cute monster creations for much of her merchandise art as well as full scale paintings and family portraits of all of the little monsters she creates. One of the unique things about Mindie as an artist is her unique ability to market herself and her art. The “Creatch” series is easily marketable to all age groups and the variety of products, such as watches, that she puts the images on makes it very consumable.

She has a creative style that carries through in all of her products and throughout her website that gives her a very clear voice in the art world. She has a message to spread, and it is one of passion and color. She has new work that she will be releasing in Oregon and Washington, and is looking forward to creating more work on her journey back home to the West Coast. She is still currently seeking bookings in Oregon and Washington for the month of May. I can’t wait to see what art comes out of the journey across this beautiful country.

You can check out all of her artwork on her beautiful website, www.ariesartnw.com.