Featured Artist Janet Massimino

Janet Massimino shares an ethereal collection of abstract paintings created with acrylic, oil and cold wax. See more from this talented artist by visiting her website.

 

 

While it’s not always been the case, I am an abstract artist. A pottery class in my formative years is where I first learned the thrill of creating something from nothing. The feeling has stayed with me all this time.

 

 

Today, I love to paint. It’s as simple as that. The challenge of facing a blank canvas and creating something tangible born of an emotional response is what draws me into the studio. I use color, shape, line and texture to express the emotional feeling from a memory of a place or experience.

 

 

When I’m not in the studio, I like to regularly spend time on a trail or casting a line in a river. They are readily available in the Pacific Northwest where I live.

 

 

The colors of the season in my garden, a rocky outcropping on the river or shadowy patterns on a dusty trail trigger a feeling that I carry home with me. Time spent outdoors drives me to explore the connection between the physical and metaphysical worlds and their transformative influences. The rise and fall, moving in and out of an image while I paint is a metaphor for the ever-changing landscape that I venture through.

 

 

I prefer the rich seductive qualities of adding oil paint to wax mediums for expressing my ideas. Oftentimes the immediacy of acrylic paint is what I turn to. Mixing a limited palette of colors to create a hue I’ve never seen before excites me greatly.

 

 

It’s not unusual for me to add dirt and dried organic materials to the paint. Or, I utilize a stick or a rock from the trail to make marks on a substrate of paper or wood panel. Working on multiple surfaces at the same time allows me to expand on an idea which often becomes a series.

 

 

I’m finding that as I get older my focus has become simpler and more direct. I thrive on learning new techniques and processes to express what I otherwise cannot articulate in words.

 

 

There are profound healing qualities in experiencing the wildness of nature. I like to encourage others to fearlessly follow their creative dreams and explore the curiosity in their hearts wherever their journey takes them.

 

Janet Massimino invites you to follow on Instagram and Facebook.

 

 

Want to stay current on cutting edge business articles from Artsy Shark, plus artist features, and an invitation to the next Call for Artists? Click below to sign up for our twice-monthly email. You’ll get all this plus opportunities and special offers that you can’t get anywhere else!