I am interested in how the mind finds refuge amid suffering, especially within the natural spaces of the earth. We, as humans, are often surrounded and suffocated by the brutal and disturbing ways we harm one another. Through our various shared media, we are almost constantly bombarded with sensational headlines of cruelty and division. These paintings are the result of my own turning toward and returning to the sheltering spaces of the natural world. I hope they can also somehow be a refuge for a mind dealing with suffering and grief. I offer a space for the mind to rest.
I am drawn to thickets, forests, and the weeds and vines that surround us but are virtually invisible to the conscious mind. The tangled and knotted vegetation usually isn’t noticed because it isn’t important, not part of the “view.” The light in this space is fractured by the line, and both are altered and changed by the fracture.
I am now also thinking about water and all of its properties related to light and color and, again, refuge for the mind.
I paint primarily in oil and am currently developing a painting process that is focused on transparency and also the notan. I haven’t figured it out yet, but I’m getting there.
Genevieve Scholl 