Kim McLaughlin paints people who look like something has already gone wrong.
Her oil paintings, moody portraits drawn from screen grabs of vintage public-domain films, now hang in the Living Room Gallery at the Tualatin Public Library. The exhibit, called "The Usual Suspects," runs through mid-January 2027. Admission is free.
McLaughlin works in oil on tinted paper, pulling source material from old movies and looking for types and tropes rather than portraits of specific actors, according to a Tualatin Life profile of the exhibit.
She lists American Realism, the Golden Age of Illustration, pulp magazines and Film Noir among her influences.
The city's gallery page describes her approach as "narrative realism," paintings that suggest a story without telling the viewer exactly what happened.
McLaughlin began painting from found photographs during the pandemic, starting in watercolor before shifting to oil as her fascination with Film Noir deepened.
"I think I've painted over 400 paintings in the last two years!" McLaughlin said. Coming back to painting later in life, she added, gave her "a real sense of urgency—not panic, but purpose."
McLaughlin holds a BFA in graphic design and studied at the Museum Art School, now known as the Pacific Northwest College of Art, and at Art Center College of Design.
That design background still shapes how she composes each painting, according to the city's gallery page. In February, she was a featured artist at the Village Gallery of Arts.
Angela Wrahtz, the gallery program's coordinator and gallerist, said the team considered several alternative titles for the show, including "The Wrong Crowd," "Bad Company" and "Caught in the Act."
They settled on "The Usual Suspects" because visitors will recognize the characters, especially film buffs.
The Living Room Gallery sits in the library's central fireplace area at 18878 SW Martinazzi Ave.
The space, ringed by magazine racks with the gallery mounted above them, can hold 10 to 18 medium-to-large paintings. The program has featured more than 25 local artists since its first display in June 2012, with exhibits typically running three to six months. The Tualatin Arts Advisory Committee sponsors the program in part.
Artists interested in a future display can contact Wrahtz at [email protected].
Upcoming
- "The Usual Suspects" by Kim McLaughlin — on view at the Tualatin Public Library Living Room Gallery, 18878 SW Martinazzi Ave., through mid-January 2027. Free.
