Janet Stoeke

Artist Statement

Artist Statement
I paint to capture something I can’t quite put into words: a feeling of satisfaction and ease when I spend time outside walking in the woods. The wonderful and unexpected gift of seeing a fox in the evening or hearing an unusual birdcall will make me catch my breath. There is no better surprise. For a time, I painted lush abstracts with realistic moths, hummingbirds, or snails hidden in them to mimic that feeling of delightfully unplanned encounters. More recently, however, I’ve found that it is really the light that has had the most profound impact on me, so I paint that instead.
Fragmenting sunlight as it bleeds through the undergrowth and treetops is my latest obsession. The colors change depending on the month and the time of day, so I enter my studio after a walk with my head full of new color ideas and combinations and get to work. I don’t paint from photographs, but try to intuitively develop my tree shapes and the negative areas that will allow me to fill the canvas with color.