Please enjoy all of this artwork and visit the various locations to experience the actual pieces!

To see an enlargement of the below artwork, simply click on each piece -- and then hover over the artwork to see the name of of the piece, the artist's name, and the year the City purchased the art.

~ Biographies of the Artists ~

(listed alphabetically by last name)

Tara Choate is an author and watercolor artist from Lincoln City, Oregon. Tara has drawn and painted her whole life, and "Art has always been a force in her life." While she works primarily in watercolor, she has recently added some acrylic, oil, pastels, and collage to her repertoire.

Her paintings are frequently of animals, particularly horses. “Animals hold a special place in my life. I work a great deal from photographs, but I often add vivid color or symbols to convey meaning. I enjoy the challenge of trying to make the viewer understand the story that’s in my head.” Her work tries to incorporate movement, power, and a story about what inspired the piece.

In 2023, Tara’s design "Rosalies Silly Cows" was selected by the City of Keizer for a roundabout. Since then, she has been dabbling in some sculpture as well.

Sharon Housen is a member of the National Association of Women Artists Inc, New York, New York and the Watercolor Society of Oregon. Her work is in private and corporate collections in the United States and Middle East. Her work has been selected for many major Oregon and Northwestern states juried competitions, as well as numerous local juried competitions and invitational exhibitions.

Housen states that she is completely dedicated to her art with an extremely serious approach, but does not paint extremely serious pieces.  The artist finds it intriguing and exciting to place familiar subjects and images in unusual scenes and situations in her art. No rules…the freedom to create!

James (“Jim”) Johnson graduated from Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts in Nagoya. There he studied bronze casting, stone carving, and traditional dry lacquer. Jim loved his family, art, travel and fishing all of which sustained him for 89 years. He was an artist who worked in various mediums, but his favorite was sculpting public art. Jim was an active member of Pacific Northwest Sculptors and Artist in Action and the Willamette Art Center. He exhibited public art throughout the Northwest and beyond. If you travel the streets of Keizer, you can see pieces of his that emphasize themes of movement and emotion. He was the featured artist at the Oregon State Fair for several consecutive years. His passion for art was his way of sharing joy with the masses.

Jim gave back through his art and service, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and on building trips to Honduras. He helped with fish spawning at Roaring River Hatchery and contributed to Salem’s Eco Earth project, sculpting a steel globe to celebrate nature and humanity.

Mr. Johnson passed away November 17, 2024

Joel Nickel graduated from college with a bachelor of arts degree and attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Art and the Oregon School of Arts & Craft… a merger of spiritual and aesthetic training and vocation.  His painting style (gouache & acrylic) is abstract geometric; his work with cloisonné enameling (glass on metal) allows him to change media & size while employing the same style together with woodworking.  His designs and artwork adorn numerous church interiors. He currently is represented by the Freed Gallery in Lincoln City. Now retired & living in Salem, he is able to devote full time attention to both canvas and kiln.

Deborah Sisco enjoys "A Life of Color and Creativity." Art has become a vibrant thread woven intricately into the fabric of her life. For the past five years, she has dedicated herself to painting, finding joy and solace in the gentle sweep of a brush against the canvas. Acrylic and watercolor have become her trusted companions, each offering a unique way to express the world as she sees it—bursting with vivid hues and inspired by nature’s endless beauty.

Flowers and color are her muses. Whether it’s capturing the delicate blush of a petal or the bold, sunlit brilliance of a summer bloom, she is endlessly fascinated by the way color breathes life into my work. Art, to her, is more than a medium; it is a way of life. It is how she celebrates joy, navigate challenges, and share a piece of my soul with the world. And so, with each new day, she picks up her brushes, ready to paint another story, another dream, another bouquet of life’s infinite wonders.

Rachel Wood was a freshman at McNary High School when she won the holiday card contest in 2024. She has enjoyed art her whole life and is primarily self taught. Rachel works mostly with acrylic paints, but also dabbles in colored pencils and watercolor. She is also on the McNary Cross Country team and the McNary Advanced Symphony Orchestra. She would like to own her own art gallery one day. You can commission artwork from Rachel, or follow her painting on Instagram @rachellinnart.