Laine Bachman
Artist Statement
My artwork is a blend of whimsical themes and decorative motifs. The themes are often inspired by myths and folklore, beliefs and misconceptions. I infuse these different ideas with archetypal images to create a deeper story within the world I create.
Subjects that have a dual nature or symbolic meaning are intriguing to me. I’m moved by the multiple connotations that things can emulate depending on how they’re seen. Representations of life, death, beauty, innocence and evil are depicted in my work by certain elements and creatures that I include. Whether it’s animals, bugs, and birds, or favored objects, they become symbols of different expressions. As owls are a symbol for wisdom or butterflies can represent a transformation, it’s this kind of idea behind the creatures that helps them tell a part of the whole story. Whether they are received as a scary pest or a beneficial friend, they are all an integral part of the ecosystem in the natural world and in my paintings.
I use portraits to tell a story about a person and where they are on a journey. The women in my work have similar traits and people often ask if they are self-portraits. I tend to super-impose myself into them subconsciously without seeing the resemblance until later. Hypothetically, they are all somewhere that I’ve been or would like to be. By placing them in an environment surrounded with nature and creatures, a narrative is created and a dialog between the person and their surroundings begins to unfold. The situations that are depicted become a metaphor of my own life experiences.
The borders evolved as a way for me to ‘frame’ my work. I never liked limiting myself with a hard line from taping my work down, so I decided to create my own edges to work with. Inspired by Art Nouveau and patterns found in nature, the motifs surrounding the work bring a decorative and illustrative aspect to my work. I like to make the images overlap and extend beyond the parameters of the borders so they seem to emerge beyond the ‘frame’. They become less restricted from being two-dimensional and contained.
My work has evolved through the years from doing very realistic still lifes to more surreal and ethereal works. My attention to detail and love of the medium of watercolor has always fueled my desire to do something new and different each time I put something on paper. It’s a constant endeavor to reach past my own limitations and create works that can speak to someone beyond the surface of what’s really there. It’s a pleasure to hear what is interpreted from my work; every story is always different and unique.
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