I create my paintings to turn landscapes into relationships that we care about and want to protect.
You decide who will appear in Artforum Magazine, take home $25,000, and display their work at The Art of Elysium's Salon!
My primary focus is on realistic Western landscape painting. I am drawn to depicting the contemporary American West as it exists today, capturing its beauty but also its fragility, in the face of irreversible changes due to climate change and overdevelopment. Through spending time in wild places and a commitment to realism, my work serves not only as a visual record of these places, but also as as pull towards stewardship of the land before it is lost.
Where do you find inspiration?The earth is so stunningly beautiful. I started painting as a way to capture my memories of wild places, and so I could share them. I am driven to continue to paint them as more own way to call out how precious our natural landscapes are, and when they are gone, we can never get them back.
What would you do with $25,000?Being selected as The Peoples Artist Award recipient would directly support my goal of creating work that both preserves and elevates awareness of changing Western landscapes. Recognition would connect my work with a wider audience that values the cultural and environmental significance of place. This opportunity would allow me to invest more fully in fieldwork, spending time in locations that are undergoing visible transformation, and translating those experiences into art.
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