April Brown

Artist Statement

Beauty is my fixation. I see it everywhere, in people, in details, in human kindness and connection, and especially in nature. I attempt to paint the movement and beauty of light; to amplify it's relationship with dark places, and cultivate the perception of light and beauty in darkness. I love that there is no circumstance we can find ourselves in where there is no light, without our consent. Is there not always light within, if we choose?

My paintings are a dam burst of my heart, on canvas, in color, in night, in the going and coming of the sun and moon. They are formed from the same wonder and awe with which I approach ordinary days, and the humility of maintaining a thriving relationship with nature, who always tells the truth and is utterly unconcerned with ego.

They are full of history and moments, connection and meaningful stories. They are imagined from countless hours casting flies to wild trout, miles in boots till the soles break apart, impromptu 1 am hikes to try to see the northern lights at 6,000 feet, sleeping under the stars, daytime cold plunging in winter waterfalls, 2,000 mile road trips, night swims in alpine lakes, views above the clouds, and living slow enough where star gazing and Milky Way chasing is part of my way of life.

My paintings are for people who want to fall in love with life again. To remember the good, or reawaken connection. For those who for whom nature is an encounter, who might want to remember the feeling of a moment in time. I also think of those in dark places who forgot what daybreak looks like.

Blue is a reoccuring theme, because it is gorgeous and rich, but also because it is the first color to dance on the hills at daybreak. And some people need to be reminded that first light is coming, and maybe it's even already here. And I want my work to show people that no matter what, there is always beauty.