Cafe, Bar, Hostel Painting

Born USA 1963 Begley was born in Buffalo but raised in Saratoga, New York, she returned to her birth place to acquire her BFA from Buffalo State College and then her MFA from The University of Buffalo. Begley is a New York State Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Fellow and a Saltonstall Foundation Fellow. Begley’s painting, Incubation was awarded “Best in Show” in the 2012 MADE IN NY exhibit at Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center. Long time label manager for Ani DiFranco she has retired from the music industry and continues to live and work in Buffalo NY. Artist Statement: My work is rooted in abstract art. It is about thinking, feeling and comprehending on a subconscious level. My artworks compose stories through color, texture, line and form. Each piece is a journey which starts with one brush stroke and then builds upon that one mark with each additional spontaneous layer. I let the scene unfold as I work. It is spontaneous mark making while a broader theme is conceptualized the individual pieces take on a life of their own in a meditative process. In my recent abstract paintings I explore naturalistic and bio-morphic forms and investigate how we receive information into the body and the memory of that information. Physical body parts as well as human sensory organs collect information where it is stored in the brain and translated for later use. I've been experimenting with bringing together memories of place in abstracted imagery and my atmospheric fields to create implied storytelling I like to call ‘abstract tableaux’.