Oil painter Laura Radwell shares a striking collection of bold abstract landscapes. More of her portfolio can be found on her website.
How many destinies does one person have? During childhood I dreamt my path might be an artistic one. At the time there was a great emphasis on having a college degree to land a position in an acceptable and achievable field like education.
“First Hope 1″ oil on canvas, 36″ x 36”
I resisted, yet as my vision wasn’t sufficiently clear, earned my degree in languages and psychology.
“Coloratura” oil on canvas, 24″ x 36″
Now, later in life, after running a business in communications for several decades, I am grateful for having taken a leap of faith six years ago. This allowed me to fully pursue my dream from an earlier time. At first I composed digital photo-based abstracts which carried forward the design sensibilities I had developed in my business. Then I returned to my first love, oil painting.
“River Dusk” oil on canvas, 40″ x 40″
As a painter, I find inspiration in observing both the actual and the more metaphysical aspects of nature—the often challenging and hard to describe sense of atmosphere not necessarily composed of matter, but rather of sensations that are present or absent.
“Calma” oil on canvas, 36″ x 36″
And then, there is the amalgam of time and space and beauty that is often lost in today’s frenetic, high-pressure world. When I intentionally slow down time, come into a different rhythm, and allow imagination free rein, I experience an increased sense of peace and calm.
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“Landbody 2″ oil on canvas, 40″ x 50”
It is from this place that I paint—from the inside out. To me, this is a very different exercise than painting from the outside in. For me, and hopefully for the viewer, there are journeys here to take. There are explorations and adventures to ponder. Thoughts of places one has been or wishes to be can be evoked.
“Promised Land” oil on canvas, 40″ x 40″
Considering what’s going on the world today, I wonder if beauty can serve as an antidote of some sort, a reminder of what it means to be human.
“Umbra 8″ oil on canvas, 40″ x 30”
While human tragedy and suffering seem jagged, fragmented, asymmetrical and unsettling, beauty, by contrast, offers a fullness, a roundness, a completion.
“Soliloquy 2″ oil on canvas, 40″ x 40”
Approaching the canvas with these thoughts in mind fills me with excitement and uncertainty. When I begin a painting not knowing what will come, I need to trust the flow and then keep responding. It is like a dialog between me and the work, and I never know who will have the last word.
Artist Laura Radwell at work in her studio
Almost always, my work is an act of improvisation and courage. It is the result of the intertwining of memory and imagination, the meshing together of the invisible and visible landscape—somewhere in time and space.
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