ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Deliberate obliteration, simplification, scraping away details to reveal an impression. A moment in time in a specific place stays with me, and becomes the kernel of an idea. A remembered landscape held in my heart and mind.

Edward Hopper once said that what he wanted to do was to paint sunlight on the side of a house. In a similar spirit, I am drawn to architecture in the landscape. Angles emerging, obscured, merging with nature. The delicious tension where land, sea, sky meet. Horizon lines.

Andrew Wyeth talked about his struggle “to preserve that abstract flash like something you caught out of the corner of your eye” and on numerous occasions called himself an abstract artist. This speaks to my approach … and struggle.

Floral still life painting has been a constant practice for me while in the studio: they are interior landscapes, small portraits, a meditation. I frequently move from one painting to another, from one genre to another. Small touches, glancing flicks of paint, scraping away details in the hopes that what remains, provides a personal interrupted realism.

Blurred, as if in motion. Passing by. There is a leap of faith in obliterating details, simplifying, scrubbing away the paint. Listening to my heart and being in the moment.

I am moved by the works of Hopper, Diebenkorn, Wolf Kahn, Morandi, Bonnard, Vuillard, Andrew Wyeth, Cezanne, Fairfield Porter, Edwin Dickinson …. to name a few.

EDUCATION

Smith College, Northampton, MA, B.A., Studio Art  1975-1979

I am an active member in various art associations in New England - Lyme Art Association, New Haven Paint & Clay Club, West Hartford Art League (all CT) and Rockport Art Association (MA). I have recently moved to a small historic town in Shenandoah Valley and will split my time between Connecticut and Virginia. I have been painting full time for the past twenty years and am currently represented by The Willard Gallery in South Portland, ME, Annie Gould Gallery in Gordonsville, VA and the Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA.

To see more of my work, click on the "Paintings" tab and click on gallery to see the paintings. Please contact me with any questions.

For a “virtual” studio tour photographed by Meredith Perdue, owner of The Willard Gallery in S. Portland, ME, click on link below:

https://www.thewillardgallery.com/journal/ariane-luckey-studio-tour

Q&A:

How do you typically describe your landscape paintings? My landscape paintings are about a sense of place but not about creating an image to represent the place. They are an impression. Blurred, as if in motion. Passing by.

What drives you to create? Shapes, shadows, color, mood, light catch my eye as I pass through the beautiful pastoral countryside I am lucky enough to live in. The impressions of a moment in time stay with me, and become the kernel of an idea. A remembered landscape held in my heart and mind.  What starts out as a reference to a specific place and moment in time is transformed by my process of abstraction.

What does your process look like? My process usually starts with a quick charcoal thumbnail sketch, loose and legible (probably only to me). If possible, I like to paint a preliminary study on location with a direct and spontaneous response to the moment. 

My color studies, on panel and recently, on paper, come next. I work quickly and often in series.  Back in the studio, it is all about staying Ioose and holding onto the initial inspiration, losing edges (and then finding some of them again).

How does the Litchfield County landscape influence your work? The barns, rolling hills, meadows, trees, cows that grace the landscape feel like heaven and I am grateful to be passing through. All of it inspires me.

Who are your favorite artists? My favorite artists are Edward Hopper (landscapes),  Robert Henri, Diebenkorn’s California landscapes, Wolf Kahn, Andrew Wyeth’s Maine watercolors, Morandi, Bonnard, Vuillard, Fairfield Porter, Edwin Dickinson, Albert York. Recently have been looking at Nicolas de Stael’s works. I could go on and on.

How do you know when a work is finished? That is good question. It is a mysterious part of the process. Personally, I love the loose unfinished piece of a painting as much as the resolved corner. I like seeing the hand of the artist involved. It is a game of chicken.

What feelings do you hope your art might evoke for a first time viewer? I hope my paintings would evoke a memory of a place, a moment, a feeling. 

Favorite museum? Musee D’Orsay. 

Are there places you’d like to visit someday specifically to paint? Anywhere along the Maine coast.

How do you spend your time when you’re not painting? Making sure my two Jack Russell terriers have the best day possible, every day. Taking long walks with my husband on country roads. Spending time with my two grown children whenever possible. Gardening, cooking for family and friends. Hiking. Reading.

an observation of my work:

The Territory of Light

Firstly, there is something to be said about the feminine in the work, the softness in the gesturing that feels as if the subject is unfolding, and not just grasped. The subjects often chosen are strong, sturdy, yet by being rendered in a more subdued tone, feel mysterious, quickened with weather, time, and an intimate history. They are, indeed, alive before the viewer, but exist and remain in the territory of light as you so aptly talk of a space where light becomes colour. It takes a fine soul, a sensitive and accomplished one to have the quicksilver dexterity, and openness of spirit to record this, and, indeed, to even know it is there. 

— Nancy Anne Miller

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