In her tonalist paintings Penny Billings seeks to stir an emotion or memory. She is not concerned about accurately recording the details of a scene but rather eliciting a response to it. She focuses on the early and late periods of the day when light and shadow intersect creating an ethereal, atmospheric world. 

 Of her painting process she writes:
The works “originate from a small sketch painted or recorded in my sketchbook on site, or they are drawn from my own memory or imagination.  The painting is then developed in my studio into the larger final work on linen with many thin glazed layers of high quality oil paint and the same oil medium used by master artists historically.  This lengthy archival process, which can take weeks, gives the finished painting a translucent glow reflecting nature’s own.”

Holly Friesen paints with a physicality, looseness and energy that aptly conveys the wild beauty of the northern New England and Quebec landscapes. She finds balance and harmony in these places and seeks to live in a “mutually life enhancing manner with the local bio regions.” Friesen begins each work in acrylic with a vibrant underpainting tone that appears in traces after layers of paint are applied in textural swirls and broad strokes of color creating areas of vibrating tones that further accent the untamed nature of her region. 

Friesen writes:
“The more I paint the less separation there is between inner and outer worlds. For me, painting is like a deep prayer awakening an inner wilderness that reflects the earth’s landscape…”

Join us for an opening reception Thursday October 5th 5:00 – 6:30 PM at Edgewater Gallery by the Falls. 

For more information on “Nature’s Inner Light” visit www.edgewatergallery-vt.com, call the gallery at 802-458-0098 or email [email protected].

To view Penny Billing’s available work and to learn more about the artist click here.

To view Holly Friesen’s available work and to learn more about the artist click here.