Artist’s Statement
In the steady gaze of a solitary wild creature, in the reflected light on the surface of a slow moving river, in the warm air that rises from a still lake at dawn... every day we are surrounded by opportunities for connection with the natural world.
I am captivated by the mysterious and unbidden offerings of the creatures and landscapes that have shaped me.
Rooted in my memories of a place, or an animal, or a sensory experience in nature, these paintings are my efforts to respond to these deep offerings.
I believe that the way I paint somehow facilitates the opportunity for these offerings to emerge.
I rely on bold brushstrokes and unconscious mark-making. I’ve learned to trust my impulses, and to not fear making mistakes. At times, I will use photographs and observation to help define and shape abstracted parts of a painting into an honest representation, but in the end, I try to allow my own unconscious gestures to move the brush, or wipe away, or use gravity to keep the painting dynamic. Most of the paintings have many layers, with remnants of earlier stages of knowing a visible reminder of where I’ve been in the process.
Bethany Rowland - June 25th, 2014