| Dealer |
Angela Saxon
Painting for me is the immersion in image-making in an attempt to communicate something for which words
won’t do. What I see and am compelled to capture and share in my own visual language. As in the way that a
writer uses poetry to make words be more than just words.
The act of painting: brushes full of paint describing light, feeling their way around the arc of a shoreline,
inadvertently dragging bright green through pale blue. Expressive marks that both describe and negate the subject
matter. Abstracted shapes that are reminiscent of known forms but that have a purpose in the painting other than
merely describing that known form.
I have always painted. I was certain of being an artist when I grew up. It was not to be denied. Yet painting has
always been a battle. I work directly, confidently, diligently and take risks in my work regularly. But a true sense
of confidence is always elusive. I’m never on solid ground for long.
On one side of this battle is certainty of purpose and clarity of vision. On the other side is doubt and insecurity.
My paintings are made in the space between the two. Consequently the paintings continue to evolve. I work in
series, typically, painting my way through an idea until finding resolution and then making my way forward to a
new series as the outcome of this process.
Bio
I am engaged in visually exploring the natural world. I begin directly from the landscape: a response to direct observation
is essential. Plein air paintings and drawings form the basis for studio paintings. I also work regularly from the
figure, create mixed media collages combining of my drawings and paintings including work from my early childhood
to the present and create 3D collaborations with a fellow artist; all support my interest in abstracting reality.
I grew up on the southern shore of Lake Michigan in Gary, Indiana and spent much time in Chicago, wandering the
halls of the Art Institute. I have lived in northern Michigan in Traverse City since 1987, which has had a profound
influence on me as a landscape painter. I have a BFA in painting from Indiana University. |
