The Art of Magda Druzdzel

I’ve been an artist at heart all my life. Having an architect as a father while growing up in the metropolis of Warsaw, Poland, greatly impacted my creative pursuits. After studying architecture myself, I realized that drawing and painting were natural and enjoyable for me.

Being a first-generation immigrant, I had devoted my first years here to assimilating myself and my family into American life. After moving to Gold Beach, Oregon in 1993, I began to paint professionally. A dream of mine materialized soon afterwards, when I also opened my first gallery and working studio in 1995. In 2022, I returned to the gallery world once again – with the help of my daughter and artist, Maja Druzdzel – as we opened the Blue Raincoat Art Gallery.

After living in California, Maine, and Minnesota, I have found Gold Beach, Oregon, to be very peaceful in comparison. The rugged coastal landscapes of the ocean, the mountains, and the deep forests are the inspirations for almost all of my art.

In my paintings I try to capture a specific moment in time through my perspective of the beauty of nature. Sometimes I use soft pastel colors and other times I use bright, almost unreal colors to achieve a very strong contrast between light and shadow. My goal is to portray on paper and canvas the wetness of the rain, the thickness of the fog, and the heat of a sunny day. I wish for my audience to be able to smell the fragrant ocean breeze and the wild meadow, but many of my works remain untitled for the reason that I do not want to dictate the mood or impose a specific response from the viewer. After looking at one of my paintings, one person may be left with a feeling of loneliness while another may feel hopeful. I wish to leave that private matter to the viewer.

I use numerous media including watercolor paints, acrylics, oils, and pastels.