From my perspective, this was a natural progression, one in which was bound to happen but took a hot minute to find itself on my canvas. I have always been drawn to Chinese motifs and art but it just seemed too stiff or traditional for my taste. However, during the 2020 pandemic and continuing into 2021, I strictly quarantined at home. My yard and immediate natural surroundings became my fascination and focal point. I bought several indoor/outdoor house plants and cared for them, studied them, photographed them and began to draw and paint them. Their organic shapes, undulating, and luminescent green shades gave me hope for life and the world around me even though I wasn’t socializing with anyone beyond my immediate family. About three months into the pandemic (mid-summer 2020) I began a semi-abstract garden painting series on mixed-media paper that soon lead me into a chinoiserie garden-scape fantasy world of botanicals and exotic birds.
According to the Oxford English dictionary, chinoiserie is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other East Asian artistic traditions, especially in decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theater, and music. As a style, chinoiserie is similar to the Rococo style, an exceptionally ornamental style of art combining asymmetry, scrolling curves, white and pastel colors to create surprise and the illusion of motion and drama. With each and all of the featured pieces within this series you may notice six to ten layers of acrylic, pastels, and graphite work each carefully arranged to create a romantic, semi-abstracted gardenscape.
My intentions are set to continue diving deep into this series until the middle of 2021 or for however long I am drawn to it. I am fascinated by the study of birds and excited to open conversations with collectors and share facts about endangered species that are mostly featured in these works. It was a natural transition into this series and one that seems both intuitive and unforced.
