I love visiting art museums, and I think the Portland Art Museum is particularly beautiful. Maybe I'm biased, but I love the architecture of the building, the permanent exhibitions, and the great location downtown. I always pay attention to what new exhibitions are coming and try to plan my visit for a rainy day. The Portland Art Museum also has a great little cafe, and I'm in love with the gift shop!

The current exhibition is an Andy Warhol exhibition which I definitely recommend visiting! I didn't know a ton about Andy Warhol before visiting, mostly just his most famous pop art works like the Campbells Soup Cans and his Marilyn Monroe prints. However, at the exhibit I learned that there is so much more to his work than I initially thought. He started off focusing mainly on advertisements, drawing simple sketches of shoes, invitations, and other commercial projects.

He eventually moved to his more famous pop art prints, focusing on pop culture references and turning every day objects into art. He was well known during this time for reproducing the same work in a variety of colors and exposures, creating visual interest when displayed together. Some of the work of this time had over 300 different versions, creating a wonderful wallpaper effect when hung together.

Later in his career he moved back to sketching lots of his pieces while still incorporating the commercial appeal of his art. Some of my favorite pieces from his later years incorporated diamond dust, creating a beautiful sparkly background.

The Andy Warhol exhibit is open until January 1, so head to the Portland Art Museum soon to check it out!