Flora Shinkle / USA
Gallery Comment ::
Flora's approach, of first dividing the picture plane and then unifying it, is effective, especially with the light and delicate technique she has mastered. "Reading by the Road" is an excellent example of this method and an elegant play of pastels.
Artist Statement ::
As an adult I started studying in oil and watercolor, as well a number of other media. At 47 I earned a degree in design from Iowa State University and since have studied with a number of Midwestern artists.
In the studio I manipulate space by playing with shapes, while working to add drama into the subject. I do this by dividing the painting surface in to rectangular or circular shapes. Much of the time, the end result is abstract with a resemblance of a realistic subject. I find this method challenging and exciting, and that painting structures such as churches, water towers, bridges, barns, and silos, works well with this method. The emphasis of my art has, for some time, been breaking of the picture plane. At the time I was studying for a degree in design, the "flat canvas"- meaning shapes instead of form, and shallow space as apposed to aerial perspective, was being practiced. That influence has become prominent in my current work.
My work becomes exciting to me by "the happenings", the appearing and disappearing of the subject, the drama of strong color and contrasts, experimenting with texture, and by breaking up the picture plane. This work is playing, intense and exhausting play, that and is immensely fulfilling.
I truly love what I'm doing, and hope my efforts are enjoyed by others as well.
I intend to keep looking for more and more ways to express the wonder and emotions that I feel, and to push toward more simple shapes and a greater degree of texture. I'm now working more with figures in action.
In the last four years, I have been juried into and received a First place and an Honorable Mention awards from the Visual Arts of Minnesota bi-annual regional shows.
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