Abbie Wanamaker |
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My art practice has always existed within some bounds that I set. I like to work with what I have and see where it takes me. Since I am always creating I never really know what’ll stick, what will be the thing that is strong enough to carry what I need it to. My art serves as a kind of biography of time and place that is specific to me but responsive to all that is happening in my life. Plop me down anywhere, anyplace and I will start to make work to help figure it all out.
At a Glimpse - This series of paintings takes its colors, cues and organic shapes from the landscapes of the Pioneer Valley, not directly but as an imprint, after the fact, a color and shape transparency or memory, a glimpse.
Landscape Color Studies
Color Paintings - In my heart I am a painter. It’s what I come back to, it’s the thing that’s there when I need it. Painting is my art in action, it's doing, creating and responding, editing, push and pull, overlaying and organizing. My paintings are reflections of the space and environment around me: the colors, the lines and shapes. All paintings are household paint on wood. Sizes vary but include a wire hanger.
Bird Paintings - This year of long walks around my house in the woods gave me a chance to see all the seasons emerge in the woods, see the first signs of spring with skunk cabbage and the small beauties of the fleeting woodland flowers. This series came unexpectedly after a year of nature drawing and journaling, taking note of the timing of plants and birds and getting immersed in the routines and patterns of arrival and growth. These paintings are an attempt to pay tribute to the emergence of the seasons specific to the Pioneer Valley by combining birds, plants and other natural elements that are all just appearing or thriving at the time I start to paint. The use of a graphic, stylized, playful style is inspired by folk art that favors design and artful arrangement.
All paintings are household paint on sign-board and coated with sealant for inside or outside display
All paintings are household paint on sign-board and coated with sealant for inside or outside display
Hand Painted Signs - In 2016 I started making posters. I was reading a lot of poetry and spiritual texts for messages of action and resistance. I brought some of my signs to protests and rallies but I also just made them whenever something felt like too much or as a way to process something that was happening. I enjoyed creating the layouts and working with changing fonts and adding simple graphic images that packed a visual punch.
All signs are household paint on cardboard or sign board in the tradition of protest and political signs.
All signs are household paint on cardboard or sign board in the tradition of protest and political signs.
Books & Zines -
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Well Stu Would You? By using simple yet provocative questions Well Stu Would You? asks you to think about yourself and others
All books are hard cover, full color limited edition books To read more about the process of writing Well Stu Would You and see a slideshow of the full book |
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In Quarantine Quotes - a zine tribute to the life and times of Covid-19, in a time when we are all trying to make sense of the world.
Zines are hand copied and stapled by the artist To read more about the process of creating In Quarantine Quotes and see a slideshow of the full zine. |