Shirley Bernstein
When I moved from New York City to the rural northeast corner of Connecticut, the vastness and beauty of the land and sky captivated me. My images began dealing with the moving, majestic, aliveness of the sky and the land. They took on a spiritual quality with a meditative stillness as well as reflecting the force and vigorous action in nature. Luminous energy effects on the clouds and reflections on the landscape are explored through a combination of reflected, direct, filtered and backlighting situations.
This series of prints explore the boundless space of the sky infused with light disappearing into the unique contours of the horizon. The horizon is used to divide the picture plane and describe an impression of the flora and fauna. The gestural color marks are made to express the forms, movement, light and atmosphere.
An environment that is easily accessible for the viewer to enter and perceive is created. It is there that the viewer’s feeling and emotions are encouraged to emerge.
I work in a variety of print media. These particular images are color reduction woodcuts. The whites are cut out of the first block and then the first color is rolled on and printed. The second color is then printed over the first after the areas are cut away to reveal the first color. This process is repeated until the last color is printed. I try to use the energy of cutting the wood to express the energy I feel in the landscape.
Contact: lushirl2@gmail.com
