Artist Statement

2015
"Over the years my focus has transitioned more and more toward the fleeting beauty that surrounds 
us daily. My primary goal through the interpretation in paint of my observations of nature is to allow the viewer a moment of respite in the bustle of our days: to celebrate the brilliance of color, get lost in the 
airiness of the sky, or bask in the quietude of our open spaces." -Alyson Kinkade


2010
"For years the vast open plains have intrigued me in their simple beauty. I recall hours of watching
the landscape span past me in bands of color from the backseat of our Buick station wagon during
family cross-country trips. I am still mesmerized by this understated beauty. The landscape around
me has shaped my aesthetic.

The horizon has captivated me, first as a visual expanse, secondly as a symbol of the human
condition. Each goal we strive for becomes a line in our near or distant future. For me, these
horizons are about our transitions, representing our goals and aspirations, the possibilities of what
lies ahead, and our intention for the future. As we reach a goal, others may appear. – [I suppose
depending upon the ambitiousness of a person, but it is my observation that human nature is to
stretch our reach.]

The act of cultivation in agriculture intrigues me, I appreciate the attempt made to tame the
enormous and ever-changing entity of land. I'm sure at times a seemingly futile task. But the
repetition and difference involved is very exciting and entrancing to me, this meditative rhythmic
difference and repetition also emerges in the visual language. A harmonious, subtle tension
created by an integration of structure and the unplanned. Horizon is the channeled form; Color
creates a dialogue.

I now find myself documenting my cross-country travels by digital camera, I rarely utilize these
snapshots in my paintings – usually just to spark my memory of a place or a particular moment.
The paintings are therefore not a literal translation of the place, rather a filtering of my experience
of the day, shaped and fueled by my internal dialogue.

While the landscapes become outlets/or reflections of my personal relation with the world, the
viewer often does not see this translation, at least not initially. The fact that they may read into it
their own story makes me want to share such imagery more." -Alyson Kinkade


2005
"Autonomy is life uninhibited. One knows authenticity; it is felt deep within -– contentment –
ownership – ease. By putting my authentic self into the work I hope to allow the viewer’s self to be
positively charged and feel an authentic connection with the collective. Intrigued by transpersonal
psychology I have recently discovered that related ideas have intuitively been incorporated in my
paintings for some time. The identity of the individual is challenged by the identity of the collective
as the collective is challenged by the identity of the individual. The impacts each have on one
another creates a bond -- positive or negative. The beauty in developing paintings is that positive
identities can be heightened while negative have opportunity to be transformed.

I observe in nature subtle shifts – the variations of color, the curve of the horizon, the meeting of
water to earth to sky. The plains are embracing and full-- lakes still and enticing. By reducing the
subject to its primary component the larger picture becomes clear.

These reductive abstractions of nature are a compilation of my thoughts, philosophies and
observations rather than a literal translation. I use open fields, crops and lakes as a foundation for
my ideas to build on. I am most attracted and intrigued by the understated beauty of agriculture.
Like the American plains, my aesthetics lend to simple forms in conjunction with an agitated
surface. Repetition and illumination of these forms creates a dialect; a communication of parts –
forms – colors. The most alluring component being color: an ephemeral presence in our daily lives.

My interest in agriculture lies in the attempt made by man to contain and cultivate-- such a
tremendous, seemingly futile, task. This juxtaposition of order and chaos brings about my relation
of the lax medium of paint with the structure of the grid. The grid acts as a binding unit of parts as
well as a separation of the same. There is a pleasing, meditative quality that comes from the
rhythm of difference and repetition – a harmonious, subtle tension created by an integration of
structure and the unplanned.  The lake compositions emphasize the need and desire for
calmness. Water frequently speaks of serenity and the stillness of lakes lends to color field
painting with immediacy.

Recent architectural works stem from the relation of people and land - influence of place manifests
in space.  Italy is exemplified by ornately decorated facades, of buildings built upon buildings,
richly patinaed surfaces that are generations old; Santa Fe is revealed through simple adobes and
fierce skies; San Diego with Post-Modern buildings in bright colors; and Colorado’s bungalows
influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement." -Alyson Kinkade