Enjoy Patton Hunter’s charming portfolio and visit her website to see more from this talented artist.
My love of art, and painting in particular, began in childhood, but lay latent until the age of 50 when my husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
I launched myself into a program of art classes and weekly drawing sessions with such purposeful fervor that I was teaching other students by the second year.
At that very low time in my life, the genuine support and encouragement of fellow artists kept me focused and sane, unafraid of the future. Although am basically self-taught, I completed workshops all over the world and have been inspired by many.
The transition from watercolors to acrylics after about 10 years meant adjusting to differences in the two media and I developed a style of layering, overpainting, rubbing out, texturing and mixing media that allows me to express personal memories and my own life experiences.
It may sound inflated, but the connections I began to feel with other people and with the tangible world around me became intense. I never looked at a cloud or a person or the shadows on a sidewalk in the same way again. Everything increased in importance. Shapes became stronger, colors more meaningful and reality more elusive.
I work in the abstract as often as in representational work. Combining the two styles creates a tension between the known and the unknown that is exciting and makes people think.
My goal is not to paint a “pretty picture”, but to use shapes, lines, movement and colors that allow viewers to construct their own narratives from personal experiences and memories. I like to think that what others see gives each painting more energy and meaning, layered on top of what I have painted.
I wish every painting exposed to the public could come alive and report back to me, telling me how it has grown and what it has become after so many different eyes have added meaning.
Thank you for this wonderful glimpse of your work and motivation. I am drawn to your strong simple figures and bold color palette.
Thank you Joanne. The human figure, in my opinion, is the best depiction of emotion and the easiest for viewers to identify with.
love your work! the last one especially speaks to me…just love the colors, and the overall design. all the elements work so harmoniously together…just an awesome painting!!
Kathryn, The Sweeper, was on a Bahamian island doing his day’s work when I was struck by the dramatic, strong shadow he cast and the vibration of the complimentary colors. This painting won many awards for me before it was sold and will always be among my own favorites.