Solar Flair Gallery Classes

Rosemary Butterbaugh -- Artist Statement

My art is inspired by the natural world but it it gravitating toward being more about ideas, than things. When it is representationa,l about a visual picture, I hope to communicate a mood and appreciation of the image as well as recognition of the item. Tolstoy defines art as “the transmission of an emotion felt by the artist marks. Art is the language of feelings, coordinate with speech, which is the language of thought.” I would give art the ability to communicate both emotion and thought. Art is a visual, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional experience to be shared by artist and viewer.

In my own art I try to make a point of communication on both the emotional and intellectual levels. I want the viewer to share the exploration of the idea of kittens (Kittens by the Window), such as the activity and fun, not just an image of a particular kitten. When viewing vegetables, I hope the viewer has the appreciation of their visual beauty, which is part of their sustenance, as well as a sense of bounty.

A farmer, viewing my painting of field corn at harvest time commented, “I never thought of corn as something beautiful enough for a painting!” I want my viewers to journey into a painting then return—changed—seeing a different, more beautiful world. The couple who bought View from Lake Powel relived their trip there, the fun, the beauty, as they viewed the painting. It’s like we were there together for a moment. Art can keep a moment in time, a place, a dream or concept.

I invite the spectator to pause a moment to journey into the images then return refreshed, looking at the world with a new perspective and appreciation

STYLE AND SUBJECTMATTER
My general style may be described as representational, in that the viewer can discern a particular object, a flower, vegetable, landscape. However,my work is becoming more abstract as I try to get the viewer to share an experience or concept, such as movement or distance or thoughts and dreams.