On Friday night I went to the opening of a show of Justin Olerud’s paintings at The Common on Mission and 7th. I usually really dislike art openings for similar reasons to why some people dislike dinner theater, or live music played while you eat; it causes inner dissonance like: “I’m here to do one thing but I am socially expected to do something else in addition to that? And how do I balance these confusing demands on my attention???” Usually I want to be looking at the art and feel awkward about being in equally awkward conversations that are the result of everyone’s mutual ambivalence about the purpose of an art opening.

But I digress. I just loved this art opening. My feeling about it was a result of the work on display, the beautiful space, and the generally laid back attitude of others in attendance. Justin in a friend, a painter, and a fellow Oaklander and the show was a great way to get to engage in his work in a different way than I had before.

Out front:

The work:

A few favorites; Check Up:

Tug-O-War! (left) and Tug-O-War! 2 (right):

Again, Tug-O-War!:

And Tug-O-War! 2:

People hanging out at the bar:

And back to the paintings; this one is called Vintage Man Painting!

Justin’s choice of colors and the high saturation he uses in the last three pieces pictured here are particularly seductive.

The artist with his work:

The people behind The Common did a great job making everyone feel welcome as they poured amazing cocktails featuring ROOT liqueur (which is totally intriguing and deserves its own post) and root beer floats made with Virgil’s (I had one of those).

Now I know what you’re thinking: an art opening with root beer floats? I know, it was that fabulous.