Just like many other artists, the seclusion of the past two years pushed me to explore new ways of expressing myself through art. However, working full-time and being a wife and mother still posed constraints on my ability to focus and the time I could spend with a painting. That led me to a new style of art that I had never experimented with before.
“Fluid” or “pour” painting is an abstract style that relies on color theory and artistic skill to produce beautiful art. Using bold colors and different application techniques, the artist creates depth, contrast, and tone in a variety of shapes and colors. It also eliminates the need for brush work to create details and shortens the time required to complete each piece while still producing amazing results—a key aspect to my ability to create a finished piece.
Color theory has always interested me, and fluid painting provides the perfect avenue to explore its many dynamics. There are multiple ways the paint can be applied in fluid art and for this exhibit I have chosen five—pressed, swipe, flip, puddle, and blown—to demonstrate the range of this style of abstract art. No two paintings are alike and each one presents a new experience for the viewer, even within the same type of application.
For most of my life I have been attracted to traditional styles, but lately I have turned my attention to abstract art where the viewer can have a more intimate experience. I believe my interest in fluid art comes from my childhood growing up in Western Kansas, where the notoriously flat lands provide an amazing canvas for the constantly changing colors seen in the sky. In Sudden Valley, I turn to the changing seasonal colors and northern lights to find inspiration for my fluid art.
I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1993 and continued my art education during two overseas university programs where we studied European, the Middle Eastern, and Asian masters dating from prehistoric times to the modern period. Since moving to Sudden Valley I have become more involved in the local art community and look forward to exploring many new styles and mediums and learning from the other artists of the Valley Arts Group.
Valley Arts Group 