middle america

As a lifelong outdoor enthusiast with diverse travel experiences, I sourced images for this series from my multiple road trips across the country. I intended to depict the mundane nature of rural Middle America in a way that evokes excitement and intrigue. These oil paintings on gessoed Bristol paper contradict the scarcity of rural landscapes with the inclusion of diverse colors and textured scenic details. My painting process involved using only a palette knife to create these distinct textures. At certain times, I poured thinned paint on top of the paper and ran a squeegee and grout float tool across the paper in order to catch the paint in particular areas where I had made initial textures with the palette knife. This process resulted in finished landscape scenes with dynamic and uniquely textured detailing.