whimsical illustration

That's the heading on Joanne Kollman's homepage. Underneath in smaller lettering: "Oil Painting".

Joanne is an artist, and a friend of the Pet Museum. Her oils of the people and the Columbia River terrain among which she lives have a directness which will engage you. Her landscapes particularly capture a little of the Portland area at its warmest and most vivid -- no, it doesn't always rain in the Pacific NW.

But it's those whimsical illustrations I want to point out to you. Her portrayals of cats and dogs, anthropomorphized into dancers and diners, singers and coffee drinkers, sweep across the surface in waves of most joyful color. In her etchings she plays with line, gesture and detail with great surety. A comforting hot cup, a face raised in song are common threads in these works. We think of our pets as companions for times that we love, for quiet coffee with the cat, for a race round the park with the dog. When I look at Joanne's pet works I see the essence of all my favorite moments, and I think to myself, I know that's what the cats would do if they could; I wish they could.

And every time, I smile.