A native Oregonian, Brian Cameron was born in Seaside in 1952. He has lived his entire life on the north Oregon coast as did two generations before him. Though his father was a small business owner, his mother, a music teacher, provided a home in which artistic expression was a cornerstone. He was encouraged to study and to find outlets for his musical and artistic talents. After heading to college in 1972 with an art scholarship, this 3rd generation ‘Coastie’ embarked on an early career as a maker of fine furniture, incorporating the elements of clean Japanese design and flawless joinery. He later shifted to figurative sculpture in wood and even concrete, before delving into printmaking and ultimately painting.

Early paintings were primarily abstract as were his masterpiece furniture designs. He made a gradual turn toward representational paintings and enjoyed painting near photo-realistic works for a time, but still felt compelled to return to a more abstract approach.

Brian works in both oils and acrylics, preferring to shy away from too much detail by employing the palette knife much more than the brush. This may be a throwback to sculpting in some regards as the knife allows a more painterly 'building' of the piece. As one who is heavily influenced by nature, he is attempting to express a serene harmony in much of his work.

Although many of his paintings are still representational, he often slides into near abstraction, striving to capture just the essence of the subject, inviting the viewers to use their imagination, thereby participating in a creative exchange.

Cameron says of the creative process “When you get going, the logical side cuts out and there is a great meditation there. That perfect, intuitive moment, when time stops, when logic and fear are tuned out, and pure, uninhibited creativity is flowing effortlessly onto canvas, is elusive, but when it occurs, the piece of work is truly authentic and there is a completeness and value to it that only some will perceive but is always known by the artist.” Brian works from his oceanfront studio in Gearhart Or. where he lives with his wife Leslie.