Queen of modern-cute

Portland artist Ashley Goldberg longs for a rainy day

By Lonnie K
Published: June 4th, 2009 | 8:00am

There is something timely and appealing about Ashley Goldberg's art. She is a ubiquitous presence on art and design blogs, and people pine after her prints and paintings. “Ooh, an Ashley G print” might excitedly cross your lips when you recognize a piece of hers.

Goldberg is known for her simple character drawings of little girls, monsters, and animals, and combinations thereof such as part-animal, part-monster. Thoughtful, almost sad, and concerned expressions are often their distinguishing features, and they're rendered in simple, bold colors. “There's hopefully a little bit of humor, whimsy, and melancholy in my art,” Goldberg says. She's been drawing these kinds of characters since she was a child. “When I was little, I always had a supply of paper. My mom worked at a hospital and brought home printer paper for me to draw on. I always drew one character per piece of paper, and then pretended that the characters were talking to each other.” Interestingly, the “conversation bubble” makes an appearance alongside many of her earlier characters. The bubble is always left empty, leaving us to interpret the characters' thoughts.

She and her partner, Drew, recently moved from St. Louis, Missouri to Portland, Oregon and fell in love with the rainy Pacific Northwest weather. “I'm used to the extreme temperatures in St. Louis. I can't get enough of the cloudy weather now. When I see the clouds roll in here, I love to put on the coffee and sketch outside. It makes me feel productive.” Raindrops and clouds can be seen in much of her new work, as can the abstract. “I sense a need for the abstract coming back. I feel it as a collective movement. Abstract used to be what you saw hanging on your dentist's office wall. Now, it's new again.” Basic pen drawings are her favorite medium, with paints being second. “The thing I love about drawing,” Goldberg says, “is that all you need is paper and inspiration. That really appeals to me. I like that you can take it with you. It's so basic.”

Goldberg has been busy with two new projects lately. One is her series of porcelain pieces – round or oval palm-sized white porcelain disks displaying one of her images. The other is her series of custom portraits of people or pets, which are so popular; they have turned into a full time job for her these days. Her ability to capture the details of people's faces and yet infuse her style into them at the same time is truly remarkable.

In July '06, Goldberg quit her day job to focus solely on her art. In March '07, Drew quit his job to join forces with her. He takes care of the digital/computer and packaging details. He helped her get her Etsy shop and blog up and running, both of which were key in launching her career. She and Drew have recently teamed up to do some design work for Urban Outfitters.

Though she is humble when talking about her success, she says that it makes her very happy when she sees her art on people's walls. After all, she too keeps up on the online art world. “I get so excited when I see a house that I love, and they have my work up. It's very validating.”

You can see more of Goldberg’s work online at ashleyganddrew.com