Return to Exploration Painting

Virginia was born in Michigan, moved to Southern California after high school and then to the state of Washington. She returned to Southern California in 2000 and now lives northeast of San Diego. She has been painting for about 45 years (full-time for the past 15 years) and has entered her work in various juried shows and also has been invited to participate as a juror. She has won numerous awards, exhibited at various galleries in Southern California, and is also included in private collections. Before becoming a full-time artist, Virginia worked primarily in the publishing and printing business. She feels it was almost a natural progression from “designing publications” to “designing her art work.” Resolving a layout with images and typography is not much different than resolving space on a canvas with form, line, and color. I am excited by the creative process and problem solving. ARTIST'S STATEMENT My paintings are mostly intuitive. I may start out with an idea but never really know what the end result will be. My process begins by building up layers with oil paint and cold wax medium and then the challenge is to try to maintain the right combination of control and spontaneity to keep the work focused but not stifled. The development of the piece involves applying paint, covering up paint, and removing paint by scraping back to reveal previous layers until the composition is complete. I use various other media such as oil paint sticks, graphite and ink in addition to various mark-making tools. I like my work to be loose, a bit flawed, and not too precise or perfect. I have been working in oil paint and cold wax since 2018 but have been painting with various mediums (watercolor, acrylic, collage, and encaustic) for about 45 years. I am continually fascinated by the creative process and I love experimenting with new tools and techniques and also learning about different mediums.