Statement

"I am an artist who paints landscapes because the earth is my first love. When I’m in nature, I never feel alone — I always feel the presence of a spiritual force.

I want the viewer to experience the passion and energy of a storm, or the threat of a natural disaster. I see myself as a fragile, rather insignificant being surrounded by the forces of nature. Rather than paint what my eyes see, I paint what I feel as I view nature: the sun shining on a dirt path in a forest becomes a safe, comforting haven; the dense fog moving through a Redwood forest becomes a blanket of solitude and introspection; the dark, thundering clouds of a storm become violent energy, threatening destruction.

While my paintings normally exclude people I’ve begun preparing for a 2010 exhibition focusing on the human figure. In my work I’ve always looked for beauty and mystery in nature and when I paint people I look for the same connection-
–the emotions often hidden beneath the surface, something I sense in a person, or the sheer expressions of joy."

– Jill Rosean Tishman