ARTIST STATEMENT
My fascination for the Western lifestyle has been with me since I was a child. In 2008 I shifted the body of my work to capturing the history of the Old West. I narrowed my focus with the creation of the American Cowgirls Project in 2012. Now in...
ARTIST STATEMENT
My fascination for the Western lifestyle has been with me since I was a child. In 2008 I shifted the body of my work to capturing the history of the Old West. I narrowed my focus with the creation of the American Cowgirls Project in 2012. Now in my tenth year of the project, I continue my photoshoots and watercolor paintings to capture the beauty and grit of the American Cowgirl.
My newest “next generation” paintings have revisited a style that I created from my 2011 painting entitled Sitting Bull. The theme to these paintings is given to a style that I refer to as “subject focus. “ Through the elimination of all background distractions, the viewer’s eye has no other option but to be pulled into the sharp contrast details of the painting with its stark white canvas giving full attention to the subject. With modest minimal foreground details, I am able to keep the subject grounded and free from floating on the canvas. I deliberately pull hidden details from the shadows of a photograph and strive to bring even the smallest details into focus. These details can provide their own stories of relevance to the overall composition.
My mastery of multi-layering techniques bring my subjects to life through their vivid color applications which defies the spectrum of the color ranges. The simple complexity of my paintings reveals the hyper concentration of each brushstroke and protecting the white space of the canvas with no margins for error is paramount to each creation.
The American Cowgirl is the passion behind my body of work, and I will focus my remaining years to ensure the empowerment of these women is brought to the forefront. Through capturing their lives with both my photography and watercolor paintings, and in recognizing their undaunted contribution to the Western values and lifestyles, the American Cowgirl will endure.
