Earthly Expresssions

Landscapes hold a special appeal. Living not far from forests and rivers, I’m grateful I can easily be among the beauty of nature. With population growth and urban sprawl, more open space is disappearing. I worry what beautiful area will disappear next.

For many years, I've painted realistically, working to capture a fleeting moment. I’ve enjoyed using watercolor and oil to portray the dappled light and deep shadows of a forest trail, or to depict the translucency of rose petals.

Like many artists, I find joy in expanding my creativity. Recently, I’ve branched into two different areas and am developing extensive bodies of work in each. Taking my love of landscapes into a different realm, I work more abstractly with acrylic paint and mediums. By spraying water and using my fingers, I move poured paint about the canvas to develop textures and watch images evolve from the surface as the paint settles and dries. I allow the paint to flow through me evoking memory of a peaceful morning or a glimpse of what the world might look like under the water’s surface. I'm no longer as concerned if the painting is really an actual place, if it evokes a feeling of place, then I'm achieving my intent.

With recent limits on my creative space, I’ve been “drawn” to working smaller with drawing materials such as colored pencils, pens and markers. These pieces started out by doing pointillism designs on small artist trading cards on the daily commuter train to San Francisco. They have since expanded into slightly larger pieces on watercolor paper of both abstract designs and realistic landscapes of the scenic beauty surrounding my new home in the Midwest. I continue in the pointillism style as it is a very meditative way of painting for me.

All is not immediately apparent in my work. They reveal themselves through contemplation and study.

-Nancy Rice Early 2010