Painting is, in my opinion, about spiritual and emotional vision; and I believe it is through both the creation and viewing of art that people share their personal visions. Paintings should be interesting and fun, and yet provoke us just a little to think about our connections to the planet and to each other. The visual arts help us build bridges to our dreams about people and places, our symbols and archetypes, and our deepest feelings.
Good art should entertain and enlighten and even inspire, but it must always be emotional. I hope my paintings give you a sense of joy and lightness of spirit, and especially a feeling of "connectedness" to nature, because these are the feelings I experience while painting and want to express in my work. I look for energy and drama, a kind of "persona" in nature, even the whimsical, and try to express it with paint, like an exotic flower that obviously wants to show off, or a pair of frogs that put on their fancy coats and park themselves on toadstools, perhaps waiting on the ladies. Is there a secret place where frogs and butterflies are purple? Do fish tell stories? Do pelicans smile? I hope you enjoy my images, and please visit often.
Over the years, personal exhibits have included public spaces, office buildings, restaurants, libraries, galleries, art festivals and other venues. My work can currently be seen and purchased at the "Wy'east Book Shoppe and Art Gallery" and "The Still Creek Inn", both located in the Mt Hood corridor, in the forested hills of the Oregon Cascades. Archival quality S/N Limited Edition prints are also available directly from the artist (please email for information.)
Samples of my paintings can be seen in the "Gallery" pages using the links on each page. Thanks for sharing your time at my site! If you wish to consider a purchase, or you have questions or just want to talk about art, please feel free to contact me using the email link below.
After my morning coffee with the headlines, I've often wondered: What if each of us spent an hour each day, or even just 20 minutes, engaged in painting, sketching, writing a story, or just journaling our thoughts, do you think the planet might be more peaceful? It's worth considering, isn't it? So, my friend, grab some paper and charcoal and smooth out a few wrinkles in the universe!
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At some level in every painter's work, there is a bit of the mysterious. Check out these Artist Quotes, my favorites:
"A painting is never finished -- it just stops in interesting places." (Paul Gardner)
Juan Gris, the Spanish painter who, with Picasso and Braque, created the cubist movement said, "as a painter you are lost the instant you know what the result will be."
And this one is heavy: "The principle of true art is not to convey, but to evoke...." (Jerzy Kosinski)
And the one I quote most often is from expressionist William Baziotes, who said, "Each painting has its own way of evolving... when the painting is finished, the subject reveals itself."
Thank you again for your interest in my art. Please visit the "gallery" pages using the links at the bottom and sides of each page, and feel free to email any comments. I truly love to hear from visitors!
Coming Home
"Coming Home" is a recent addition to my mountain collection. Acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas, this landscape painting measures 36 X 48 inches. In my world, the two distant birds flying toward us are returning home from an epic adventure down south. This scene represents a seasonal return to the big woods of the northern Cascades, and it invites viewers to merge into their own discovery, perhaps a search for tranquility and mindfulness.
Faces 2
I'm not sure I can explain this one, except to say that I was playing with colors, using a large bristle brush to push pigment and build texture on a 24 x 36 inch canvas, and a face began to appear. I always like surprises, and took these raw images to be a loosely defined (but important) focus.... Then there were two, and soon there were four. Are they arriving or departing? Separate or connected? Could they be conscious of each other's presence? Hmmm, not really sure about all of that, but sometimes it's just pure fun to create without defining everything. Just let it rip!
Kristin's Mountain
This landscape is acrylic on heavy cold-pressed Arches paper, and measures 16 x 31. My granddaughter, Kristin, asked if I would paint a mountain with trees and a colorful sky to hang in the entryway of their home. So, I imagined this view looking out toward a singular peak in dark purple silhouette, with a blazing red sun setting under a warm open sky.
All images and text are copyright protected, all rights reserved (c)1998-2018 Jim Highland
Wildfish Editions 24001 E Rockwood Creek Lane Zigzag OR 97049
