Board & Staff

Cedar Lee has been a Portland resident since 2015. An acrylic painter specializing in large-scale works, her favorite subjects to paint are forests, flora and fauna. She has lived in cities on both the East and West coasts of the U.S., and she holds an art degree from Goucher College in Baltimore, MD. Cedar considers herself a lifelong artist. She sold her first painting at age 12, had her first solo show at age 16, and has sold her art through galleries since 2006. She participated as an artist in Portland Open Studios for the first time in 2016, and enjoys connecting with fellow local artists. Cedar lives with her husband and two teenage children in SE Portland. She can often be found working in her veggie and flower garden, pumping iron, trying to become fluent in Spanish, and hiking with her dog in Mt. Tabor Park.

Josh Gates is a Deaf painter who grew up in the Willamette Valley and has called Portland home since 2006. Much of his artwork focuses on the ever-changing rainy climate of the Pacific Northwest and its interaction with the urban environment; he also maintains a prolific pet portrait business. First participating in Portland Open Studios in 2019, he joined the board in 2022 and values being able to uplift artists and promote art access for all. Josh holds a BFA from Portland State University, and has been featured in the Buckman Journal and OPB’s Oregon ArtBeat. He lives and paints in the Montavilla neighborhood with his wife and cat, and enjoys exploring the city on foot, collecting vinyl records, and designing levels and puzzles in Super Mario Maker.

The 2024 Portland Open Studios tour was a fitting homecoming for Artist Chris Beanes, after years away in Vietnam. Chris has shown artwork in locales including Juneau AK, Saigon, Vietnam, and Portland. His medium is acrylic paint on masonite board, focusing on industrial and natural landscapes. He loves to listen to music and dance while painting as it informs the fluidity of the pieces. When he isn’t painting you can find him cycling around town, skiing, and cooking up a storm.

Elizabeth Warner-Lamback moved to Portland in 2004, after graduating from the California College of the Arts with a degree in architecture. She is the only member of the board who is not a professional artist; however, she has been a patron of Portland Open Studios for over a decade, visiting many of the studios with her daughter, who is also a budding artist. She loves the creativity and community the organization fosters and hopes to see it flourish for decades to come. When not working on the board for PDXOS, Elizabeth works full-time as a construction manager building affordable housing in Portland. She also enjoys time with her family and her many pets, including four chickens, a Labrador, and a bearded dragon.

Michael Kurz is a Portland painter who explores his relationship with place. Investigating how different environments impact autonomy, privacy, and state of mind, he reflects on and critiques landscapes, especially informed by his travel to and from Portland, the Columbia River Gorge, and Baja California. He has had solo and group exhibitions in Portland, Hood River, and Baja. He first participated in Portland Open Studios in 2024. When he's not painting, Michael enjoys connecting with other artists, exploring new places, kiteboarding, hiking, mountain biking, reading, and cooking.