Artist Biography

Oregon artist , Margret E. Short, specializes in still life and floral subjects in oils. Short is a Signature Member of Oil Painters of America anda Master Signature Member of American Women Artists , and a member of the Salmagundi Clubin New York. Three times, she was awarded top prize at the Salmagundi Club, once in 1998, again in 2005, and most recently in 2010. In 1998, Ms. Short won the Director’s Purchase Prize at the National Small Oil Painting Exhibit in Wichita. Short has captured many other awards including the Grumbacher Gold Medallion at the 1999 Oil Painters of America Exhibit in Scottsdale, AZ.

Additional Selected Exhibits :

  • Salon International 2011 – San Antonio, Texas
  • Small Works Invitational 2010, Kirkland, Washington
  • Oil Painters of America National 2010 – Scottsdale, Arizona
  • Masters in Miniature 2010, CM Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana
  • Salon International 2010 – San Antonio, Texas
  • American Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2010 – Maryland
  • American Art in Miniature, Gilcrease Museum, Biloxi, Oklahoma

In 2003 Ms. Short was a featured artist on the Award winning Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon Art Beat, three times, in 2003, again in 2006, and 2007. In 2004, The Parker Company, based in Boston, chose Margret Short as the 2004 Featured Artistfor the Undiscovered Italy 2005 Edition.

Captivated by Rembrandt’s bling, Margret produced her splendid 2007 series, Lessons from the Low Countries. This project was inspired by the color palettes of eleven select paintings in the exhibit, Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art, whichtraveled to three U.S. cities in 2006/2007. Ms. Short replicated 17 th century paints for her collection by hand grinding each pigment. Luscious colors, with magical names like lapis lazuli, cinnabar, malachite, and azurite, are the focus of each bountiful still life. This entire project can be viewed at www.margretshortblog.com with detailed documentation including historical pigment research and images of all completed paintings. Not only are the colors reproduced, Short also quoted, quite accurately, sections of each original work in her paintings in a game of hide and seek. This nearly sold out exhibit was presented at Lawrence Gallery, Portland, Oregon in June 2007.

Margret was captivated again by bling after a 2009 trip to Egypt. For this project, however, it was not Rembrandt’s bling, but the bling of Pharaohs. To create this new collection of 12 paintings, Lessons from the Pharaoh’s Tomb, Short researched pigments used in tombs and temples in ancient Egypt from 3500BCE. This nearly sold out exhibit was presented by Lawrence Gallery in Portland, Oregon in September 2009. Follow the process with stories of Egyptian history and a Lessons from the Pharaoh’s Tomb Part Two project with images of the progress, making of paints, and all final images at her blog: www.margretshortblog.com