Inspired by Nature
I have always been creative. Always drawing, always doodling, always day dreaming. My earliest influence was my Papa, who taught me how to draw and more importantly, how to observe the world through an artist’s eye. He showed me how to notice subtle details and colors in a landscape that are often overlooked or misinterpreted in everyday life.
As I grew older, I carried those lessons with me. Observation became the foundation of my artistic practice and continues to shape the way I see and interpret the world around me.
For the past 10 years, painting has been a central part of my life. Recently, I graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, concentrating in Painting and Drawing. Living in Montana, I draw constant inspiration from the landscapes and changing seasons that surround me. Through my work I hope to share the beauty, wonder and quiet details of the natural world that first inspired me to become an artist.
Each piece feels like a piece of my heart. Colors, textures, and an overall emotion for the next art piece comes to me first when beginning. I run with the original thoughts while I start the research to find photos or views that match what is in my heart. Sometimes that means researching mountain peaks or landscapes, other times it means exploring on my own and hiking out to photograph pieces of nature that speaks to me.
This past winter I was drawn to mountains. I was so captivated by the forms and colors found in mountain peaks. I enjoyed how smooth and soft the snow appears in contrast with the rock formations jutting out from beneath the blanket of snowfall.
I enjoyed how unique and dynamic mountain peaks are, even though they are known as sturdy and stoic landmarks. I was less inspired by an emotion or experience and more so inspired by the colors, forms and the process of painting them.
I spent a lot of time researching for unique, odd and almost surreal mountains to capture. I ended up painting Kawagebo, Mount Machhapuchhare and Southern Biacherahi Tower. All are peaks from around the world. I found each one to be very unique on it’s own, yet all complemented each other very well when placed next to one another.
I am excited to see what is to come for the next collection. I am currently in the beginning stage of collecting inspiration.
Shop Now
Located in the Choktoi Glacier Area of the Karakoram Range, Pakistan. This peak is part of three distinct granite spires.
The Southern Tower is famous for its unique fin shaped summit which was shown in the film Zabardast, a travel diary of a freeride expedition. The ridge swoops and curves, leaving an exposed face reaching up to 65 degrees with multiple unclimbed routes. The painting seems to drown in snow, pouring down the slopes, curving over and creating cornices that hand delicately along the ridges. The mountain calls to skiers, climbers and lovers of nature alike.
oil on canvas
36” x 48”