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Velveteria: Museum of Velvet Paintings
Rating Details »
Categories: Museums, Art Galleries
Neighborhood: Northeast Portland2448 E Burnside St
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 233-5100
- Hours:
Fri-Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
24 reviews for Velveteria: Museum of Velvet Paintings
All the other reviewers sum it up pretty well... Although only one person mentioned the handwritten signs - they are absolutely priceless.
The Velveteria is closing its Portland doors on Sunday, January 24. It's worth every penny of your $5! Go before you live to regret it!
Oh that Jen K. is full of resources, fun and has a great voice! So great in fact, my SIL who joined us for the day suggested we program her voice into my car's GPS system instead of the system generated one. Anyway, I digress...
How fun was this place? Jen had already been but thought we would really like it. She was right. This place is funky and cool and retro and weird all at the same time. It really brought home that art is really subjective and that while sometimes one random piece might not look like much, when grouped with other pieces it can look like a lot. There were definitely some pieces that were much more "artistic" than others (and I am not talking about the boob and hoo-gina paintings) but there were paintings that had such complex texture and detail that we were all impressed. This is not a place that needs more than 1/2 hour of time but it was a great stop.
$5.00 donation to get in and no photography allowed. This place will be moving somewhere soon so get in while you can!
Additionally, it wasn't until we got home and told of our adventure that my husband reminded me we have our own velvet painted Donald Duck hanging in our garage!
Quirky way to kill half an hour. Highly recommended activity to go along with a movie at Laurelhurst down the street and some thrift store shopping.
some of the velvet paintings were hilarious. my favorite was the unicorn section, followed by Anderson Cooper. i picked up a few postcards as well, plus the lady who was working was really excited to give us some suggestions about where to go in the area.
Let me say this is the kinda funky-ass spot that makes me proud to be a Portlander.
They gave me a prize for guessing the identity of a portrait as we arrived. I chatted with the guy (owner) about the various artists, cool cat.My brother the painter was even more impressed than I by the detail and adeptness on the walls.
Too, we had 5 kids in tow and they dug it as well.
Fun stuff get there or be square.
went to the new location recently, it was even better than before. don't miss out on velveteria!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/23/2008 First to Review
velveteria is a velvet painting museum with a large collection of rare paintings and rotating… Read more »
Apparently I like my nudes velvety.
I knew I would enjoy this place as a unique part of Portland, but I wasn't prepared... who could be? Velvet painting had its heyday in the 70s (aka 'the era of questionable taste'), so there is plenty of kitsch. But there was such beauty here it took my breath away.
Caren and Carl have amassed a collection of 3,000 paintings and they rotate them through the gallery. Caren gave me a personal tour and there's plenty of fun, silly stuff... portraits of KISS, Hendrix and Hulk Hogan, but then I walked to the back and discovered the work of Louis Behan. It shows you that a master artist can be spectacular in any medium. He just happened to love velvet.
Tribal maidens, exotic South Pacific beauties, Maori chieftains and Mexican bullfights. One of my favorite pieces was a simple pineapple, but painted so I experienced it in a new way. There is even a black light room, which is just pure fun. And I'm happy to report not too many clowns which give me the heebie jeebies, especially in this 3-dimensional type of art.
The gallery is located a block from Screen Door. Next time you are faced with an hour wait, put your name on the list and pay a visit to the Velveteria.
You know it was five bucks and it was exactly what i pictured except smaller. They had velvet paintings of various interesting subject matters. Anderson Cooper painting was disturbing. Dog the bounty hunter gets my vote for best, although Beth looked nothing like her.
Go once to say you have seen it, appreciate and chalk it up in the done category. Always a safe bet to send people from out of town. It is very Portland like.
Do yourself a favor and pay the $5 dollar admission fee and check out Velveteria: Museum of Velvet Paintings.
They have a wide selection of t-shirts and memorabilia.
Too bad they didn't have a informational brochure that comes with your admission price.
The owner at the museum at the time is very friendly and is open to questions.
The velvet painting of Beth & Dog the Bounter Hunter made my visit.
Oh and the Oprah velvet painting. LOL
The walls are completely covered with framed velvet paintings every where your eye turns. The black light room is very cool too.
Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures once you are inside.
They have a "People Love Us on Yelp" sticker on the front door. Yay !
Keep Portland Weird !
A velvet painting of Dolomite...
Really, I should end the review here, because it is impossible to top a velvet Dolomite, but to not mention the great owners, the psychedelic black light room, or the vast selection of velvet paintings off all subjects and genres would be a disservice to what makes the Velveteria a top Portland destination.
The Velveteria displays close to 300 unique velvet paintings, including a sci-fi image of the Haley's Bob weirdo mastermind, tasteful playboy-esque nudes, scary clowns (although, aren't all clowns scary), unicorns and Kenny Rogers. These are only a small portion of their larger collection which they rotate through the museum.
There is also a Timothy Leary inspired Black Light room filled with glowing velvet paintings...the menacing devil and the nude silhouette paintings alone were worth the price of admission.
The extremely reasonable $5.00 admission fee makes this a must stop next time your over in the East Burnside area. Make sure to do a "stop and chat" and get some great insight and stories from Caren and Carl, the owners of the Velveteria. Despite appearing on No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain, they are incredibly down to earth and were eager to talk with us about their museum, the neighborhood and their interesting interest in these paintings.
And did I mention they have a velvet Dolomite?
There's hour parking out front that's free but they also have a parking lot. It's a $5 admission price but so worth it. Especially when you have the place to yourselves and the guy running it takes the time to explain the various paintings to you.
They have over 2500 paintings but about 300 up on the walls. They're loosely grouped as nudes, banditos, unicorns, religious and there's usually a special exhibit. The exhibit now is "future/ sci-fi."
There's also a black light room where there were a ton of glow-in-dark paintings.
I had no idea there was such sadness in velvet painting. War themes and tears are common themes as well as clowns.
We're familiar with the Elvis and 60s/ hippie paintings but apparently people are still painting now. We saw an Obama one (on sale for $500).
I enjoyed hearing about the curators and how the museum came to be. They bought their first velvet painting on their first date and their collection has grown ever since.
It's cash only which was a bummer since I wanted to get a t-shirt of the catwoman or at least some postcards.
I had a lot of fun here and now want a velvet painting (or two).
Last weekend I checked out the new Velveteria. The Burnside location is bigger and not so grubby as the old place, but it totally seems like a tourist thing now. It probably always was that. Anyway, I still like the paintings. The black light room seemed smaller than before, but the guy working there assured me that it wasn't--he said the twisty-turny layout of the one in the old location was what made it seem bigger.
Aside from the obvious oddness of the paintings, I also like the handwritten commentary that accompanies some of the works. And, believe it or not, some of the paintings are actually quite good.
Totally worth the $5 admission.
My admiration for velvet paintings began as a child. I remember seeing my dad's velvet painting of Stevie Wonder circa 1970, his hair in cornrows with the beads on the end wearing those nifty aviator sunglasses. I ask my dad where the painting is and he can't remember. My hearts breaks a little every time I hear that. Being in awe of velvet paintings that I am, imagine my excitement upon hearing of a museum dedicated to this art form.
I had found out about this delicious piece of velvet heaven from Yelp. I was visiting a friend in Portland and wanted to find other activities to participate in besides drinking. Upon hearing of this place's existence, visiting this museum took precedent over drinking.
Velveteria is a small place but it only has a $5 admission so no complaints from me. The space that it is in is full of light. The guy working that day was awesome. He was incredibly friendly and informative. The paintings are sectioned off by theme. There is a western section, sci-fi, Afrocentric, nudes, Hawaiian and there is even a blacklight room.
If you go to Portland and don't go to Velveteria you are missing out on a kitschy adventure. Once you leave you will have a new found appreciation for this overlooked art.
Just came back from a weekend in Portland and the Velveteria was the best thing we did there, especially for only $5! The couple that run it are very sweet and knowledgeable about their art collection. It says "No Photos" but they let me take a picture of a Popeye piece that said "I Yam What I Yam" as I told them my Grandpa had the same picture and words tattooed on his arm! They had a Michael Jackson tribute area, lots of topless black lady pix (Black is Beautiful is current main exhibit), one of Anderson Cooper in a thong (OMG if he only knew), and one of Anthony Bourdain as the devil on the toilet smoking a cigarette, I almost died laughing. Black light room is great too. I like how they have nice padded benches throughout to sit on and contemplate all the pieces at your leisure. Great fun and when I get back to Portland next year I'll do it again as they rotate their collection!
Worth the price of admission for the Unicorn Combover.
Worth the price of admission for the Two Faces of Kenny.
Worth the price of admission for the Native American Elvis & Priscilla.
Most of all, worth the price of admission to see Small Child's mind get blown for the first time by the black light room.
Man, I wish these guys had some more space to expand into!
Thank you Yelp, this place was fabulous!!
It's a small little museum, with an ever-changing collection of velvet paintings. This includes unicorns, nudie pics, cowboys and much, much more. I especially like the black light room, in which all the paintings "glow."
This is like the kingdom of kitsch, right down to the hand-written descriptions. Turns out, the couple who started this sweet place have even recently released an awesome (and velvet-covered) retrospective book on the strange beauty of velvet paintings.
As mentioned previously, the staff here is very friendly and welcoming. They'll even guide you through the museum if you want. And it's only $5 to visit. What else in life is that cheap?
Velveteria is definitely a can't-miss spot, and it's on cute section of Burnside dotted by numerous vintage clothing shops and other businesses.
Seeing the Unicorn Comb-over is worth the $5 admission alone. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy the t-shirt. If unicorn love isn't enough to pull you in, come and see Dog the Bounty Hunter, E.T. and several past presidents on velvet (along with hundreds more). You will be wowed.
This is a very unique museum. It is definitely worth the $5 admission. There are many good paintings that look almost as real as photos. The black light room is very cool. There are also some unique pieces of jewelery for sale there. Excellent experience overall!
Very cool museum. And the owners have come out with their own book about velvet paintings and would be happy to sign it too! I really enjoyed it; my favorite was the Godzilla painting, which sparkled with emerald like glitter. There are some nudes, along with celebrity and religious paintings as well. I couldn't believe how many looked 3-D, they were done so well. And that $5 entry fee is totally worth it. Also they have a special black light room you can't miss.
Very, VERY interesting... This museum was a bit more than I expected. Not that I knew what to expect! Who knew that Velvet paintings actually have a rich background of history! I sure didn't! But when talking with the curators (who also collected these masterpieces), they explained to me the signatures to look for, new up and coming artists in the Velvet arena, and displayed an impressive collection of pop-culture that one can only truly appreciate in mass (or under a black light)! It's a must-see when visiting Portland!
This place is so amazing. There is nothing else like it. They have over 1000 velvet paintings on a rotating basis and they are all so crazy. This is a great place to take people from out of town to see the true oddness in Portland. And it's cheap too!
I have been here twice, both times at the old location. I can only imagine the extra amount of awesome they have stuffed in to a larger space. From poodles, to unicorns, to naked ladies, this place has it all. The owners are really friendly and will talk to you about all of the paintings and where they came from if the know. You are really doing yourself a disservice by not going here.
Sweetest, most personable propietors in all the world of weird stuff and art. I didn't have time to do the exhibit justice, but I bought the book and yakked with Caren and Carl about their collection and came away refreshed and full of wonder for the creative spirit.
beyond the $5 entry fee, the standard velvet elvii (plural), or the requisite black-light room, my favorite thing here by far is the handwritten sign over the thermostad which reads "sophisticated museum climate control."
actually all the signs are hand written. on what appear to be random scraps of paper or cardboard.
this place is kitchy, charming, and hilarious.
This is the kinda place that makes Portland what it is. I've been wanting to print a bumper sticker that says "Make Portland Weird Again" and this place definitely fits the role.
