- INquire
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Landscapes
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Abstracts
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Publication
<>landscapes, realism, representational, abstract, expressionist, nature, scenic art, scenery, natural, agricultural, regional, stylistic, dramatic, colorful, gestural, midwestern, dynamic, energetic -
- Biography:
I received an MFA in intaglio printmaking, then worked in oil, watercolor, acrylic, handmade paper, and mixed media collage over a thirty-five year period. In my earlier years as an art student, pastel was not considered an appropriate medium for serious artists, thus the long delay in trying this medium. I tried painting an English Lake District landscape with an old set of pastels. Soon I realized this was the perfect medium for me.Statement:
Landscape
“The Midwest landscape has surrounded me all of my life. Having spent most of my childhood in Ohio and my entire adult life in Iowa, it is the images of these vistas which periodically inspire me to try a new way of expressing this subtly beautiful landscape. I enjoy hiking in some wilder parts of the country so am also challenged by the unique forms of beauty found in each of these places. In the past I have worked in acrylic and collage. Now I am using the medium of soft pastel to capture the qualities of undulating hills, overlapping rhythmic forms, textures of trees and vegetation, rich colors, dynamic patterns, changing light, and, always the sky. The land remains constant, the colors transform subtlety from season to season, but the sky is an ever-shifting panorama of light, color and form. The possibilities are limitless.
The immediacy and directness of pastel is the quality I most value in this medium. I feel I am able to best approximate and express the ephemeral and very magical essence of light as it moves across the land through pastel painting."
Abstract
"Although I am known for my pastel landscapes of Iowa farm land, I am quite passionate about abstract painting with acrylics on a Japanese plastic paper called yupo. Periodically I put away all the pastels and bring from storage into my small studio an assortment of acrylic paints, brushes and tools to explore a very different path. It is truly a path of discovery. With the landscapes I am working from my reference photographs but with the abstract approach I am coming from an inner place of imagination, play and experimentation. I love combining unexpected colors with layering, scraping and sanding to come up with surprising new imagery."Previous ExhibitionsVideoHaving trouble with the video? Watch HEREPress