Nancy Wallace: June 2016

Friday, June 3, 2016

#117 Giant Rhode

Painted on site on a wonderful spring day in the Virginia countryside. Seems funny to think that it was actually kind of cold that day, but the rhododendron bush didn't seem to mind.

I like to build up each painting in a series of steps, starting with a gesture drawing in paint. Then I go on to abstract shapes and marks to create more definition as the work progresses. I usually work towards satisfying an original concept, but sometimes the result is just a distillation of life as I'm experiencing it. Subjects range from still life composition, to landscape, figure and even to my four-legged family members.

When other people appreciate my paintings, and can relate to them, it only reinforces the notion that we are not separate from one another. That's one of the greatest things about art--that it lets people know they're not alone and that others share similar feelings about this amazing world that we live in.