The Natural World Painting

BIO I was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. I currently live in Camp Verde, Arizona. I feel moved by color. I have always loved the work of Kandinsky, Joan Miro, Gaugin, Matisse, Helen Frankenthaler, and Georgia O’Keefe, just to name a few. I like the way they use color. Kandinsky’s idea of the spiritual in art and his ideas on color and music intrigued me in the beginning of my art making. Since moving to the Southwest in 2006, the landscape inspires me with its expansive nature. The full monsoon clouds with the drama at sunset thrills me to no end. The varying landscape here in Arizona captures a certain energetic quality that makes its way into my paintings. I have recently switched back to oil paints. I switched because I was using acrylic for years and then suddenly became aware that they are petroleum based. I care for the environment and want to do my small part to protect it. The thought of more oil pipelines being built across our beautiful land saddens me. Because of my love for the land, the landscape is the subject of the majority of my paintings. I take side trips into the abstract, which I adore. I keep trying my hand at painting abstract. I think my landscape paintings are headed in that direction. I have taken to using a palette knife more than a brush to keep the painting loose. I paint with paint straight out of the tube, using no solvents. I may use some oil such as safflower oil at some point. Right now, I enjoy the buttery consistency of the oil paint. I love how I can work it with my palette knife. Painting wet on wet, I mix the colors on the canvas as well as on my palette. I painted for 10 years before attending college for fine art. I’m about a year away from my Bachelors of Fine Art. I earned an Associates of Art in Graphic Design while going for my Bachelors. I needed to get back to work to earn some money, and never returned. I suppose at some point, I will go back to finish it off. I have paintings in private collections across the United States and Taiwain. From 2012 to now, I have not shown my work as I felt I was in a transition with my painting. I have also moved several times. Life has now stabilized and my painting has taken center stage again. ARTIST STATEMENT My subject matter comes from the natural world around me as well as my own intuitive ways of working with the materials.