Skye and her daughter at the Lake

Artist Statement and Short Autobiography

Artist Statement 2009

My artwork is evocative and intellectual. Using a great amount of detail and many different layers and mediums in each painting, I suggest the connection between people, the earth and the universes and our evolving understanding of this connection.

This evolution is illustrated by figures, designs, and symbols within a specific space. The spaces themselves are colors and forms based on lakes and seas, skies, stars, dreams, visions, and mathematical/philosophical imaginings.

It is my hope that I create artwork which is not only intriguing to the mind but also rich and beautiful on the emotional and spiritual level.

Short Autobiography 2009

Since my earliest memories I have been drawing and viewing the world as color, line, and forms. From my mom comes the drawing skills and love of dance, from my dad comes the great love for music, animals, land and the lake and the interest in science and metaphysics and from me comes the constant stream of mind pictures which I must try to re-create for others to see.

I’ve done many different types of artwork throughout my life so far. There were chalk murals on blackboards when I was in first grade, portraits and other commissions in elementary and high school, holography and laser art, botanical illustration, intaglio, oil painting and drawing in college then folding screen room dividers, more murals, colored pencil paintings, art classes for elementary school students, mosaics and finally back to mostly portraits and paintings. My life continues to provide the interesting challenges of how to keep creating paintings and drawings while also spending time and energy doing many other jobs. Everything is for a reason and everything works together to create the final outcome.

If you study the drawings and paintings up close you will find minute detail of color and line, small pictures and designs and surface textures. From farther away you will notice the weaving in and out of lines, shapes, colors, darks and lights - all to help you find the figures and designs in the paintings and at the same time make it difficult to do so.  As you explore the paintings and follow the paths that your eyes and mind discover, you will find interesting and beautiful things along the way.

I’d also like to add that in an effort to be more environmentally friendly I use water miscible oil paints*. These paints do not need turpentine for thinning or cleaning – only water or water and soap, respectively. They can be mixed with acrylic paints and other water based mediums, resulting in stronger chemical bonds between the different mediums when used together on the painting surface. They also dry in half the time as regular oil paints.
 

*Their water solubility comes from the use of an oil medium in which one end of the molecule has been altered to bind loosely to water molecules.  Some of the paints do not use traditional pigments that are based on cadmium and other heavy metals, which further reduces the toxicity risks of working with them. 

Questions, comments, or to schedule an appointment to visit the home studio/gallery -  skye@skyegentle.com or telephone - 616-607-8563