Mindy Fisher is a visual artist based in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Fisher grew up in New Hampshire and moved to Chicago in 1998 to study Set Design for Theatre at Columbia College. She spent fourteen years in Chicago developing her studio practice and teaching youth cartooning and sewing at Right Brained Studio in Oak Park, Illinois. Her work has been exhibited in Chicago, Cincinnati, Lafayette (Louisiana), Portland (Oregon), New York City, Clifton Springs (New York), and throughout New England. In 2023 She was commissioned to create a mural for Northlands Music and Arts Festival in Swanzey, New Hampshire. You can find her working in her studio in Bellows Falls, Vermont (by appointment).
Statement
When you look at my colorful, abstract paintings you might spot a penguin strumming a banjo, a coral reef from an alien landscape, a lizard blowing bubblegum, or a parrot backpacking through a wonderland. Most scenes in my colorful, abstract paintings feel like glimpses through a magical microscope or a window into an alternate universe, rendered in unexpected color schemes that resemble psychedelic fabric patterns.
My process is part experiment, part meditation mirroring my inner dialogues. Each layer reveals a surprise to me and becomes the foundation for the next. When a painting isn’t heading where desired, I might obliterate the surface with a translucent glaze or scumble. I leave fragments exposed to build a new base. This habit creates ethereal depths amid the flat, saturated color blocks.
Inspiration comes from everywhere, but I’m especially drawn to walks through local swamps, close observations of insects, and the absurd Saturday‑morning cartoons of my childhood. What drives me most is the delight I hear from viewers as they hunt for hidden figures and spin stories about what they see. Their reactions fuel my next canvases, and this irresistible cycle continues.