((Left) The Open Door Restaurant and The Rickards Gallery | Photo by Jeff Spry (Right) Dan Rickards with wife Julia (L) and daughter Emily (R) | Photo courtesy of Dan Rickards)
The fusion of fine art and fantastic bistro food is a perfect pairing that’s served Dan and Julia Rickards’ The Open Door Restaurant and The Rickards Gallery well since it first opened in Sisters on the corner of West Hood Ave. and South Oak St. back in 2012. Either enjoying a light meal and glass of wine amid the gallery’s vibrant paintings or relaxing on the spacious patio, this well-loved artistic destination is one of the cornerstones of the Sisters art and dining scene, imbued with a welcoming ambiance that only a longtime family-owned establishment delivers.
Showcasing an eclectic blend of watercolors, oils, pastels, acrylics, glassware, bronze, woodworking, stoneware, and custom jewelry, The Rickards Gallery (formerly Clearwater Gallery) features the works of over a dozen diverse artists such as gallery owner Dan Rickards, David Mensing, Edie Shelton, Garth Williams, Chris Warren, Sarah Hansen, and many others.
“We just started our 15th year now as The Open Door and The Rickards Gallery; the gallery is actually 25 years old now, and we continue to evolve,” Dan Rickards tells CBN. “Trying to improve the experience that people have. We’ve really become a bigger venue now for a lot of receptions, birthday parties and anniversaries so that’s nice when you can gather people.”
Over the years this cozy campus has expanded to include a number of additional facilities and events spotlighting outdoor movies, art shows, a vintage camper trailer, local musicians, shuffleboard, and as an annual summer Quilt Show venue. The enterprise began as a marriage of the Rickards’ affection for fine art and entertaining friends and clients. The original bar/bistro was blended into a remodeled artists’ gallery and landscaped garden courtyard that has operated as an entertainment spot and reception area for a multitude of special functions.
“We also did away with our custom picture framing but it opened some space for private parties and more consistent dining. The new stage we have on the west part of the property on the yard side is where we do the Folk Festival music, and the old stage has been transformed into a sort of garden dining section outside and that’s been fun. Other than local fires and things like that, we’ve kind of hit our stride and we’re just trying to embrace the community we live in and really loving all the people we see day-to-day. There’s nothing better than knowing people by face and name as they walk through the door. It reminds you of why you live here in the first place.
“People still recognize, even more so now, that we are an art community. We’ve established quite a few galleries per capita so we have more galleries than most towns for the amount of people who live there. And it’s the Folk Festival and the Quilt Show and all the arts-related events that define our town I think more than people realize that it does. It creates an atmosphere and a vibe and people are immersed in it and we’ve definitely benefited from that.”
On Friday, October 2 from 5-9pm and Saturday, October 3 from 12-8pm, Dan Rickards will host Between The Lines: An Exhibition by Dan Rickards at the Open Space Event Studio at 220 NE Lafayette Ave. in Bend. The show will present an absorbing collection of Rickards’ numerous achievements and expressions in the mediums of acrylic, charcoal and graphite.
“I’m super excited about it,” he reveals. “I picked a subject matter that has always been maybe a little scary. After many years of painting certain things I wanted to challenge myself with something creative in a different way. The human figure is something that’s been exploited in a lot of negative ways, and yet it’s one of the most timeless beautiful things ever. So I chose to take that on as a subject matter. I thought this would be a couple-year endeavor and instead it’s gone on for 12 years. I’m finally wrapping that up next month.
“So I’ll have a show of 50 or more pieces all in one spot and that’s something I’ve never done, where the show itself becomes a work of art and tells a story. They’re largely monochromatic. I used 11 different female models, including family members. It’s an exercise in vulnerability and a little humbling. All the models I know personally, so there’s a real human connection. I’m trying to discover the beauty within that, especially from a woman to look at it and find the beauty, and not have it just be the perspective from a man.”
therickardsgallery.com • info@therickardsgallery.com • 541-549-4994
