Member Artist
July 2018
Beth Cartland
Artist Statement
I love the physical process of applying paint to canvas. The spontaneous application of color and line to the prepared surface gives me a real sense of freedom and energy that connects the external world with my private interior space. I appreciate the dialogue that takes place between the painter and the work in progress. Each painting has its own demands, which evolve and reveals themselves thru the process of painting.
Recently I have been working with collage elements that are often images of my former paintings. I will reproduce the images of my paintings in different sizes and incorporate them into the current work. This enables me to create an unexpected rhythm or pattern. I also add original prints, printmaking and drawing techniques to help complete the painting.
For me, abstract art, like life, is always accessible and inaccessible at the same time. Both tangible and mysterious, abstract art contains the elements of surprise and spirituality.
To paint in an abstract style gives the artist a sense of freedom of expression, but it is a challenge to communicate feelings using only line, paint, color and texture. Many people are more comfortable with objective reality and to stir a response, either negative or positive, is to defy their calm and have them re-examine their perceptions. “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see” H.D. Thoreau.
I was born in Kansas City, Mo, a city with a delightful mid-western reality. My uncle, artist John Steuart Curry, was a well-known and successful painter of Middle America. I was surrounded by his art and absorbed the idea that all paintings should have a certain look. It was wonderful but it didn’t excite me. It wasn’t until I started my own art journey that I discovered abstraction.
My husband was a career Army Officer and we lived in many areas of the United States and also in Germany for three years. I have studied art and painted and exhibited extensively.
I have exhibited in China, Venezuela, and with the Arts in Embassies Program of the U. S. Department of State. I received a Masters of Fine Arts degree from The American University in Washington, DC. I also studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Corcoran College of Art and Design. My home is in Washington, DC, where I live with my family and have my studio.
For inquiries contact the artist directly:
www.BethCartland.com
cartlandb@outlook.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethcartland/
www.facebook.com/BethCartland