Background:
Born 1956 in Queens, NY I grew up and graduated high school in Teaneck, NJ. I studied painting and photography at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and painting at the University of California, Davis. Currently, I divide my time between the San Francisco Bay Area where I work in the studio and teach, and The Big Island of Hawaii. I live with my partner, children and cats. My work focuses on form and relationship. I continue to explore the motifs of trees, rock formations, lava, landscape and the elements of the natural world. My mediums are painting, drawing, collage and sculpture.
Artist’s Statement
The path a branch takes to grow toward light is a practical and meaningful path – not a random path. The contour of lava, or a tree’s bark, or the surface of water and its encounter with weather – all of these parts of the whole are continuously and dynamically affected by neighboring matter and energy. As a naturalist artist, I seek to express the integrity and agency of the natural world. I observe the dynamic interlocking forms and emergent systems in nature and come back to the studio to express this perspective . In nature’s presence, I watch for these truths so that I can create art that pays respect to the honesty and complexity of nature.
I begin with a general idea of a form or shape. Working with string, scissors, paper, canvas pieces, glue and paint, I depend on the physical connection I make with the material to guide my choices with regard to juxtaposing shapes, texture and color. As I work, I allow the force of one form to make demands on another form, or on its texture or surrounding space. As the motif develops its collective energy, or synergy, color emerges and I respond.
My intent is to make art that is true to the dynamic spectacle of the natural world. That’s the story I want my art to tell: matter in relation to matter.
- Carrie Blanche, April 2009
