Gretchen, Woods 1 Painting

Born in Boston, MA ,1969, and grew up in Rockport, MA. I attended Montserrat College of Art 1988-1993. I now live and work at my studio in Ithaca, NY, and have done so since 1998. I currently am a member of the Artists Alley studios, and curate The Gallery at South Hill in Ithaca, NY. My work starts out from life drawing, from there I abstract the figure using quick uninhibited and direct lines. I am concerned with capturing what is in front of me in a simplified way that will allow intersections in line to happen during the drawing process. The shapes created by the lines develop into vibrant and interesting images that become positive shapes that I expand on and develop into paintings. It is important for me to work from what is in front of me and to capture the moment. I like to have that experience of being in a place, and to have that atmosphere, body, and memory to work from later as I edit and transfer my drawings into paintings. Since I use my drawings as a foundation to build on, I want the personality of the model and the place to come through in my work. Having that real moment and time to start from creates a subject that is projected onto the surface of my paintings. In most cases I draw on a paper that is sized so I can use oil paint directly on to the paper. Having smaller works on paper to figure out color combinations and compositions before moving the composition to a larger format is a kind of testing ground for my larger works. In my figurative abstractions I include the entire figure in the composition. Even though they are non- representational, having the entire figure in the composition captures the movement of the model’s pose more completely for me. The nude figure or clothed figure as a starting point means that I can interject atmosphere and complexities into my work that are more grounded then working purely from my imagination or non-objectively. I enjoy combinations of colors that have a tension and resonance that is exciting and has depth. I layer the colors so the surface of my paintings become textural over time and those layers of paint show my thought process. Along with brushes I apply the paint with a palette knife, spatula, and rags so my surfaces are varied and have depth. I truly believe in looking at all art -work from the past and present for inspiration in a serious and open manner. Even though my influences are many, I am mostly inspired by Abstract Expressionism.