Pamela Hetherly

Artist Statement

I paint because painting is a blast. I can’t wait to see something good emerge on the canvas from a sea of what often starts as a mess.

My learning feels exponential these days. I find the more I learn and experiment with color, the more striking my work becomes, the more daring I am.  Who would think there is this much to learn about seeing something, and then incorporating what’s inside me onto a two dimensional surface?

I discovered oil painting several years ago, after many years of doing watercolors. Oils are luxurious and vibrant, and give me time to look again and choose how I can make a painting better. Making art mirrors work I’ve done all my life: problem solving, making decisions, the high of a good choice, the frustration of things just not working. When a painting works, it looks loose, natural, effortless. That’s what I hope for in every painting.

I am fortunate to live in Maine, where subjects surround me everywhere I go. I love capturing on canvas the elation I feel when I look around this beautiful place. In the summer I usually paint outside, always searching for something new that will capture my attention. In the winter, I paint in my studio, usually from life, or from small plein air studies I’ve done, or  photographs I’ve taken throughout the year. I’m drawn to large value contrasts, especially using transparent darks and opaque lights.  I tend to use a limited palette, with a warm and cool for each primary, striving for resonance among the colors, and painting complements side by side whenever an opportunity arises.

My interest now is in seeing and capturing color in light and shadow, using strong color and value contrasts to dramatize activity. I am exploring gesture, light, and shadow with figure drawing. I try to combine the two, looking for vigorous and lively compositions that grab attention, and then tell a story that causes pause.