A Beaumont-Wilshire Creatives Series
Bianca Youngers didn’t begin painting until college, but it’s become a through-line in her life — threaded through adventures abroad, parenthood, bar ownership, and recent health battles. “I was a theater major, but I just started painting in college — no art classes,” she says. “My paintings were always abstract until later, and then I started doing animals for a long time.”
Co-owner of Binks Bar on NE Alberta Street, Youngers has been a Portland fixture for more than two decades. But it was during the pandemic that her art practice truly took center stage. “I really got into it,” she says. “I sold a bunch of my abstracts and a lot of animal paintings. I gave half of what I made to my employees — no one was working then.”
Now painting full-time from her minuscule basement studio in Beaumont-Wilshire, Youngers often starts her mornings early, coffee in hand, sometimes after a walk with her dog Freddy in Wilshire Park. “The dog park is where all good things start,” she laughs.
Her latest floral series — bright, textured, and emotionally instinctive — has shown at Tin Shed and Gallery 408 in Camas, Wash., with more local exhibits on the horizon. “I paint from my gut. I play. I’m not too worried about anything,” she says. “The magic is wanting to put the time in.”
While art is now her focus, Youngers spent years balancing work, creativity, and raising three children. “My husband and I always split duties 50/50, at home and at work,” she says. The couple once took a year off to travel with their kids, visiting 26 countries and homeschooling along the way. “It was the best thing we ever did,” she says. “We saw orangutans in Borneo, rented a beat-up car on Easter Island, and stayed in Prince Charles’ guest house in rural Romania. I’ll never forget it.”
Though health issues have slowed her at times, painting remains her steady anchor. “Even in the hospital, as soon as I could sit up, I was painting again,” she says. “It’s not just something I do, it’s who I am.”
And here in Beaumont-Wilshire, surrounded by art, family, and the muddy paws of Freddy, Bianca Youngers continues to create a life of color, resilience, and heart.
Bianca will be participating in Portland Open Studios in October and can be reached through her Instagram handle @biancayoungersart.
David Friedman, @friedart, is a visual artist specializing in papercutting, printmaking, and painting. He and his dog, Poppi @poppipdx, can be seen daily at Wilshire Park. His work is on display at the Alberta Street Gallery, daily 11-7.