Those Who Came Before Painting

Trena McNabb creates intricate and layered paintings she has researched with the ardor and interest of a natural scientist. Although each subject is represented realistically, because she employs transparency, overlap, and changes in scale, the overall effect of the piece is somewhat surreal. Often described as “transparent, painted collages, a connected series of smaller paintings that tell a story. Her artistic resume is extensive, spanning over three decades and including a host of community projects as well as over 45 selected exhibitions. Trena’s painting style has been described as a transparent, painted collage—forming a kaleidoscope of vivid colors that still retain a lifelike quality. The overlapping images she creates around one central theme combine to tell a story, and draw the viewer in with surreal and colorful forms which become shockingly realistic when viewed up close. Trena has always enjoy painting big and these commissions gave her an opportunity. She likes doing research and telling a story using her own unique technique. Her prior work ranges from 32-foot long multi-canvas, site-specific corporate, hospitals and/or public art commissions to small pieces for private residences. Her paintings can be found throughout the US, Europe and Asia, all telling the story or history of that particular environment, industry or community. The natural world and the images from nature, native plants, insects and animals associated with particular areas have become her signature works. “Looking at Trena McNabb’s paintings is a journey into ourselves. Her flawless compositions and thoughtful renderings thoroughly engage the viewer. She allows us to glimpse the unseeable aspects of life through her portrayals of real things. Joyful and intellectual, Trena McNabb’s paintings are the inspired work of an artist with much to say about the richness of our lives.” Gallery Director Trena grew up in a small town in North Carolina with a passion for reading and art. As a child she loved to draw and became aware that it was possible to make a living as an artist as she grew older. She began using her artistic talents to earn a living as an award winning commercial art director. Leaving that world to paint full-time in 1995, she began to include my love of nature in my work. She creates large unusual landscapes utilizing the overlapping and transparent style she developed. Her paintings can be found throughout the US, Europe and Asia.