Patricia Keller
Middleton, WI

Mirror Lake sits in a pristine wilderness area in Wisconsin’s Baraboo bluffs. While its summer temperatures, colors and textures attract most visitors, the cold, January air creates beautiful and unlikely light, colors and details. This is painted with a combination of transparent watercolor and water-soluble crayon on cold-pressed paper.

Inspired by the rich history of art depicting the natural landscape, I aim to infuse my paintings with a sense of intimacy, rawness, and vulnerability, while pushing the genre into the contemporary realm.

As my technique has evolved, I have progressed from an emphasis on representation and detail towards abstraction and the use of color layering for emotional effect. My exposure to Impressionist landscape paintings as a young student made a profound mark towards my desire to use color deliberately in this way.

Additionally, my personal experience in wilderness environments has had a profound influence on my well-being, and makes me hope that viewers of my work may recognize a spark of something familiar.