Some one that I've noticed from the Portland area, as well has work i enjoy looking at is Deborah marble. Her work is simplistic and messy, and yet i can still tell what the image is depicting. With her awesome water coloring skills she is able to let the paint bleed to the to amount she wants it to and also can stroke a steady line. The subjects that she paints aren't anything too special, until she attacks it from an artistic stand point. The figures that she paints look a little too feminine to my taste (the legs), but her style overall is what i take notice on.
One out of state artist that has work I've really come to of fancied is Wayne Coyne of Oklahoma City, OK. Yes he's the lead singer of a band, but also he creates art on some of his spare time that i find visually exciting and neeto to look at. i admire how he tries to take things beyond their limit and create unusual subjects onto a canvas. He's not a famous artist that everyone knows, but atleast he's contributing to the movement that art follows. 
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