Artist Statement

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“Rural solitude is a life that happened upon me years ago. It was not a part of my life plan. However, I have embraced it fully as a path meant not for many, but meant for me. Living outside of a small mountain town in CO, I am surrounded by the trees and quiet spaces that have now taken over my paintings. Visitors often see the woods where I live during a lively weekend in the Summer. I explore them on a still Winter morning or just after dark. My mind weaves stories of others who might live here and the beauty in their faces that tell of similar journeys to mine.

Degrees of realism are used to create a quiet narrative within my work. However hushed and still they may be, the paintings carry a heavy weight on the viewer, enticing them to fill in their own personal story with each piece. Subtle texture is used to echo the worn and weathered settings for many of my paintings. There is a beauty in the history that can be told by the landscape around me and the people within it. I am happy with whatever experience my paintings may create as viewers step into my backcountry daydreams.”

-Kathryn Petroff