My pastel paintings depict scenes from my continued exploration of the islands of Maine and the wide open spaces of conservation land, beaches, horse pastures, farmland and salt marsh estuaries of the North Shore of Massachusetts. By working in my studio from memory, sketches and/or photographs and a intuitive process I create a heightened sense of place. For me, this approach avoids getting bogged down in details while promoting a more imaginative response to handling color and composition. Through my
my work I attempt to convey nature’s incantations: whispers of wind through bows of spruce trees, the lapping of waves against a shoreline, the distant rumble of thunder. To capture the feel and temperature of weather and nature’s change in mood, I often examine the metamorphosis of daylight to dusk or calm to approaching storm. I examine the spectrum of nature from the graceful dance of field grass to the power and furry of surf. I offer the viewer the indulgence of a meditative space to contemplate the grandeur of nature and reinforce the notion that even the most solitary and tranquil moments have significance.
Andrew Anderson-Bell
