Janie Schnurr
Janie Schnurr
A lifetime friend of mine said, “Your paintings are like looking into a delicate, very disciplined kaleidoscope.” I felt she understood and appreciated my intentions.
My art explores the external/internal and spiritual/physical artistry that surrounds us in our everyday lives. I am interested in the notion of beauty from color through natural and man-made patterns. Throughout my life, influences in my art have come from nature through gardens, parks, coastal regions and the celestial sky, as well as from fabrics, sewing patterns, wallpapers, prismatic stained glass and church windows.
In my recent works, I employ an array of cultural patterns and symbolic circles layered to create delicate forms in each piece. These works evoke a sense of illusion of space and movement alluding to a spiritual sense, a presence, beckoning the viewer to look closer.
My process involves pastel drawing as well as paint techniques of pouring, washing, layering, rusting and staining with teas. I abandon the paintbrush to create watermarks, stains, and floating effects to allow for balance of control and chance. Embracing the concept of wabi-sabi, my art celebrates the imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.
