Artist’s Statement
I have long been fascinated with color, form, and texture, and use all three elements in my work. If I had to choose one favorite color, it would be blue. I’m drawn to the coolness of blue, and feel serene when I’m working in that color field. It’s a feeling similar to being by a body of water: ocean, lake, or stream. When I use water as a subject, I aim to capture its calming essence, a quality that my fly-fisher friends know very well. Living in Truckee, and having grown up in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, I draw inspiration from the natural environment. My water paintings come from a place of experimentation. I rely on process, adding and subtracting elements and resolving their balance until the artwork achieves a unified flow. I build up washes of color with acrylics, creating layers so that no two colors are exactly alike. I blend metallic paints into the composition to give the painting a shimmering quality, and place complementary colors near each other to create the vibrancy and fresh context that I am looking to express.
The process of creating water paintings is meditative and scientific. The meditative part comes from adding and adjusting brushstrokes of color, as each addition changes the overall harmony of the work. The scientific part is found by applying the principles of color theory, and by mixing colors to create a unified whole. Also, I enjoy myself and have fun with the process. Through experimentation, I’ve developed a technique of layering metallic paint with solid colors to achieve iridescence. Many of my artworks change color relative to the angle from which they are viewed.
My training in design has had a strong influence on my work. I received an Associate of Arts from Simon’s Rock College and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design from the University of California, Davis. My paintings and functional pieces can be found in private collections throughout the world. My Website is www.carolesesko.com.
— Carole Sesko
