Artist's Statement
"September in Oxbow"
My affection for nature runs almost as deep as my love for painting, and both are connected for me on a very spiritual level. I grew up on a family farm in Iowa, instilled with the value of respect for the land. After college and a move up north, exploring the great Minnesota outdoors became a passion. A majority of my paintings are from photos taken while hunting, out on fishing trips, or camping at state parks with my family. The images I paint are tales of my adventures and also of times just out enjoying nature.
The act of painting for me is incredibly relaxing, almost meditative, to the point where I have to paint to feel centered. Through painting, I wish to express the intimate manner in which I experience the world, rendering these adventurous and incredible moments as timeless and endless as nature herself.
Oil on canvas has been a favorite medium since studying visual arts in college. My approach is fairly representational. With each painting I desire to improve my technical skills while hoping not to sacrifice creativity and freedom of expression. I mostly paint from photographs I’ve taken but also spend a great deal of time observing light, shadows, textures, and colors in nature.
Artist Gustave Courbet once said, “The beautiful is in nature, and it is encountered under the most diverse forms of reality. Once it is found, it belongs to art, or rather to the artist who discovers it.” I find this statement profound, although a bit one-sided, for when I am exploring the outdoors my subjects almost seem to “discover me.” Thrilling, beautiful moments reveal themselves to me, and I find myself saying aloud… "I need to paint that.” - Jessica L. Frantzen
The act of painting for me is incredibly relaxing, almost meditative, to the point where I have to paint to feel centered. Through painting, I wish to express the intimate manner in which I experience the world, rendering these adventurous and incredible moments as timeless and endless as nature herself.
Oil on canvas has been a favorite medium since studying visual arts in college. My approach is fairly representational. With each painting I desire to improve my technical skills while hoping not to sacrifice creativity and freedom of expression. I mostly paint from photographs I’ve taken but also spend a great deal of time observing light, shadows, textures, and colors in nature.
Artist Gustave Courbet once said, “The beautiful is in nature, and it is encountered under the most diverse forms of reality. Once it is found, it belongs to art, or rather to the artist who discovers it.” I find this statement profound, although a bit one-sided, for when I am exploring the outdoors my subjects almost seem to “discover me.” Thrilling, beautiful moments reveal themselves to me, and I find myself saying aloud… "I need to paint that.” - Jessica L. Frantzen
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