Of Fire and Ice Painting

02 - Two Orwicks. Michael Orwick is a classically trained landscape artist whose work reflects the serenity, diffuse lighting and atmospheric mists of the northwest. His daughter, Elena, grew up in her father’s studio where she could feel his brush strokes, and her mind could flow like paint on imaginary canvasses. Her understanding of color, light, texture and balance became as natural to her as toys to other children. By the age of three she had her own art supplies, and by the age of ten she was featured on AM Northwest on KATU TV. By thirteen, she exhibited her art with her father in eight major Oregon galleries. Now Elena paints next to her father in a shared studio. They work independently tossing comments and critiques back and forth. Their individual pieces, whether modern or impressionistic, speak of their shared adventures and inspiration. Inevitably, their brushes joined on the same canvas. The melding of their talents was pure magic. Elena’s creative process reminds Michael of how much fun art can be. Her fresh approach and willingness to take risks have inspired her father to go boldly forward into the realm of modern art. Father and daughter call their collaborative work 02; they each breathe in the other’s inspirations.