Angel's Artist Statement

Tone, shadow, and shape are the main focus of my practice explored through the figure, still life, and landscape.  I’ve worked with several mediums including graphite, acrylic paint, oil paint, and watercolor, but I am most drawn to charcoal. However, I’ve recently grown attached to relief printmaking and the way it forces the artist to make extreme decisions in terms of light and dark. I’m fascinated by the way tone can capture an image and the way shadow can be both abstract and representational. I’ve become entranced by the thought of capturing the absolutes of the world, forming recognizable figures through unrecognizable shapes. What was once almost imperceivable unless physically present becomes familiar again thanks to a series of connecting shapes and feelings. In order to capture an object’s presence, one must dive into the more formal elements of drawing by looking for starkness of black and white, driving forward until the scene is complete in a way that is both visually seen and felt. Even then, however, there’s always an element of chaos, a friction between the transformation of abstraction to reality. If you were to ask me why I care so much about capturing the absolutes of light and dark, or the idea of building up an image through abstraction, I don’t think I’d be able to tell you with any sort of certainty. Perhaps I enjoy how something as complex and colorful as life itself can be captured in, arguably, a rather simple form. How a single shadowy shape can carry with it the idea of life.