Victoria Veedell

victoriaveedell's picture
Neighborhood: Hunters Point Shipyard
Group Affiliation: Yosemite Place
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Places have a memory, a history, a feeling that we connect with. These memories, like faint echoes, are revealed as light moves across the landscape, transforming the color and texture of a place. It is these moments and experiences that I capture in my atmospheric landscape paintings.

My fascination with the landscape stems more from an interest in exploring our primal connection to the land rather than a focus purely on the aesthetics of a place. My paintings trace the effect light has on a location, how it leaves its mark on the landscape, how it illuminates the essence of nature--creating different moods, transforming a scene, drawing us in, focusing our gaze, changing the temperature physically and emotionally, and capturing movement. Combined, these elements relay the feeling and memories of a place. My paintings are a snapshot of a particular moment in time. Recording these moments is an act of resistance documenting places that are threatened by increased urbanization and catastrophic climate change. They are a call to preserve these places and a reminder of the important symbiotic relationship that we have with nature.

Travel is an integral part of my process. Participating in artist residencies around the world--Japan, India, Finland, and Iceland--allows me to explore different landscapes and record the dramatic shifts in light and color in various geographic locations. During long walks, I immerse myself in the feel and texture of a place recording my observations in photographs and small studies. These studies become the basis for my series.

Ultimately my work is about chronicling timeless moments in nature where we feel a sense of serenity and a connection to the land. This is the gift I want to share with you.