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