June Wilson

Region: Northeast

City / State: Middletown , NJ

My work reflects my involvement with nature. I loved playing in the woods as a child, watching wild animals and birds. My family moved to the Jersey Shore when I was ten years old and seeing the Atlantic Ocean rocked my world! The storms, the wind, the space, it was all so dramatic. I have only recently begun to see how this early introduction to the forces of nature has affected my work, which has a rhythm and energy that shows my love of movement. I studied modern dance and performed in a small company for many years. I have always tried to capture this spirit in my paintings. The geometric shapes are my way of shaking the rectangle to animate the whole painting. Because I paint on wood, the grain is often visible beneath the glazes. I always hang one side level with the ground as a visual anchor. Lately, I have made one side curved and the other sides straight, which introduces a softness in the geometry. The dark mark is a spontaneous brush stroke that I glaze lighter shapes over to make them float. A new series that I am working on has only a big white brush stroke. Nothing is planned in my work except the wooden shape. I let the process inform my actions, like riding a wave.