Enjoyment of beauty involves not only the eyes, but the emotions of the heart. They must be balanced with the viewer's intellect and spirit. My work is Visual Poetry. It is my statement about nature, both romantic and classic, showing the aura which surrounds it and emphasizes the formula principles of art-balance, rhythm, repetition, contrast, harmony, unity, variety, order, discipline, and freedom.

In life, it is prudent to think first and act afterward. In art, I act first and think afterwards, gaining spontaneity and freshness, along with unexpected accidents that happen that I can take advantage of in composition and color. No part is “sacred” and I feel free to paint out or change my direction at any time. “The whole is more important than the parts.” It is my practice to stop working just before I think I am finished, lest I should overwork the canvas. Slowly my work has evolved from the dark foreboding landscapes of the early days of my youth into the bright, exuberant, powerful, optimistic images of my “young” golden years.

For me, photography is a pleasingly reductive medium in that it forces me to organize even the most complex visual content within a clearly defined space – the camera’s field of view – distilling the chaos into a distinctive image that delivers a message that otherwise would go unexpressed. While the image itself is but a fraction of time, a single observation illustrated by the play of light, photography’s power lies in its ability to speak without words.

b.praytor

Art is not always just about creative expression. Like all things in life it is dictated and affected by the constraints of time and space, quite literally.

Over the years I have learned to utilize whatever time is available- a day, an hour, fifteen minutes. I have come to learn that it is only not in the physical act that real creation happens; it is the combination of thought and act and the application of what the mind has been mulling that makes art.

I find that my expression goes in and out of being easily identified by specific objects or only a reference, a non-specific narrative.

Through this entropic process the images shift; they are chairs, they are figures, clearly and not so clearly. They dance, they sit, they wait.

Visual interpretations of my surroundings have been essential elements of communication throughout my life. I often watch interactions among people, appreciate the forms created by nature or study the light as it moves through the day. These observations were first recorded through drawing, which quickly led to painting and then sculpture. However, photography has received the majority of my time and efforts.

I work in many different processes of photography: silver gelatin (black and white), hand tinting, cyanotype, ammonium dichromate, Polaroid transfer, and digital photography. Much of my time has been invested in making art, which has afforded me the confidence to trust my instincts. With sensitivity to light and texture, my work appreciates the classic and respects the contemporary in both process and subject matter. The images I produce document moments in time, with a cross between fine art and photojournalistic perspectives. 

I love responding to the unexpected results of painting loosely. This method of painting brings joy to the process as it adds an element of creative discovery. I enjoy abstraction and gesture in art, and focus inexhaustibly on the infinite possibilities of color combinations. Painting abstractly allows me to access the power of the visual language to evoke emotion.

I create iconic altar boxes using found objects and mixed media. While my work first began as my observation and reaction to the overwhelming religious influence in the South, it has evolved into an acceptance of living in the buckle of the Bible Belt.

These contemporary altarpieces mimic the symbolism of ancient works with recreated objects that may be both old and new. I wish to provoke personal reflection by replacing the central object of worship with signage provided by the local church authority.  The signs are real images I have observed and photographed in my travels. 

The found objects are designed to work as symbolic imagery comparable to the purposeful use of symbols in ancient icons. These objects are the result of a life-long need to collect, store, and display. As my collections grow through rummaging through local flea markets, estate sales, curios shops, and bestowment, I find recycling these objects works in harmony with the desire to process and move away from the past.

 During my time in Greenville, SC, I have learned that these signs are part of our cultural landscape and can be found in any corner of America. These altar boxes reflect not only my interpretation of the message, but also America – home of the ‘kitsch’. 

My work is meant to be humorous, clever, kindhearted, satirical, and unconventional which all reflects me as a person. It is my nature to challenge traditional views, create stimulating conversations about art, and to adapt to new places and faces.

Enjoyment of beauty involves not only the eyes, but the emotions of the heart. They must be balanced with the viewer's intellect and spirit. My work is Visual Poetry. It is my statement about nature, both romantic and classic, showing the aura which surrounds it and emphasizes the formula principles of art-balance, rhythm, repetition, contrast, harmony, unity, variety, order, discipline, and freedom.

In life, it is prudent to think first and act afterward. In art, I act first and think afterwards, gaining spontaneity and freshness, along with unexpected accidents that happen that I can take advantage of in composition and color. No part is “sacred” and I feel free to paint out or change my direction at any time. “The whole is more important than the parts.” It is my practice to stop working just before I think I am finished, lest I should overwork the canvas. Slowly my work has evolved from the dark foreboding landscapes of the early days of my youth into the bright, exuberant, powerful, optimistic images of my “young” golden years.

I create collages by layering various papers onto a backing. I work intuitively, inspired by my own interests, the colors and designs on the various papers, and the pure enjoyment of the process.

My goal is to create a visual idea that makes me feel emotionally connected to the piece.

I express my feelings through art, hoping to give people hope and inspiration for a better future in America and around the world.

Working primarily in oils, the themes of my work stem from reality, and are often presented as still lives, landscapes and figures. Color, texture and pattern are my subject matter. Once the paint begins to cover the canvas, the painting takes on a life of its own becoming an abstraction of reality through brushwork, the softening of edges, and the layering and mixing of color. My focus is the world within the four corners of the canvas. 

I take an innate, raw desire to create and channel it into color and form. My mind moves from one visual to another melding colors, shapes and forms. I stand before the easel daily because I want to improve my craft. I want to know what would happen if I tried a different method, scraped the canvas, added blue rather than red. The result is an abundance of works that invariably demonstrate a colorist approach to my palette, while my forms range from loose to substantially real.

In 1974 I became enamored by photography when that first image appeared mysteriously in the developer tray... Even though that technology has changed, the thrill of capturing and "developing" an image has stayed strong through the years.

My camera is an archaic looking wooden box with a bellows and an original 1872 brass barrel lens. The optical quality of that lens is amazing, creating sharp points of focus as well as peripheral out-of-focus areas that are atmospheric and appear to swirl. In my portraits, I want to move beyond surface appearances to more genuine facets of each person’s personality and interests. Stillness and quiet reflection are invited. Because my work is grounded in the early history of photography, it invites a dialogue between past and present, ancient and modern.

Since childhood, I have worked with wood in various ways, building things and refinishing furniture at my father’s upholstery shop. He taught me how to do chair caning.

In my early thirties I found myself living in a small apartment in a new city where, for the first time, I had no access to a workshop. Desperate for something to make, I tried drawing, writing, cross-stitch, sewing, but nothing was satisfactory.

Then a weaver friend of mine gave me a couple of little books with basket patterns in them. Only a few hand tools were required and no workshop was needed. I made a couple of baskets and I became obsessed.

For the first few years, my materials were limited to dyed rattan and sea grass. I worked to find ways to make each basket unique. I got access to a wood shop and began to make baskets with wooden bases, then later with wooden rims and rings.

The characteristics of the wood inspire the form of the basket. The basket’s rim and base will usually come from the same log. I love taking rescued firewood and transforming it into art.

I do not draw or write down the patterns in advance, but have a clear picture in my mind how each piece might turn out. For me, each piece I make is a sketch for the next piece and the patterns evolve over time. Sometimes I will repeat a particular pattern or construction, but no two works are ever quite alike.

I see my paintings as a  means of trying to capture scenes and people that resonate within  me and to present them in as artistic and meaningful manner as possible.  I am an avid traveler and many of my subjects are derived from these trips. I would have loved to have been around when the Impressionists were emerging, but then on second thought, I'm  just glad to be here now.

Nothing energizes me more than being in my studio and exploring. I’m excited by the act of harnessing my imagination and then allowing it expression. The medium through which it finds that expression varies.

In painting, I’m currently working in oil and cold wax in the format of abstract landscapes. I'm intrigued by the structure of a ground/sky framework and the abstractions possible within.

With assemblage and collage, I juxtapose disparate objects in such a way that they make sense together and tell a story. The greater the difference in the elements, the more exciting the story.

Ideally my pieces serve as invitations to the viewer to embark on their own explorations and create their own stories.

It is the process and the expression that interest me. I choose the medium which is appropriate for the idea and piece I am creating.  

Since 2012 I have been creating a body of work called Pages. Pages is part of an ongoing series of large, deconstructed paintings created with multiple layers of calligraphic marks and grounds. The deconstructed pages are then reassembled and unconventionally bound to create new visual relationships between the images.

I am in constant research and discovery of colors and compositions.

Each canvas is the support where I release my emotions beyond the conventions, where I find my own balance which makes my art original and very personal.

I love using a palette knife, which allows me to keep the deep pigments but also the brush for a softer feel. My black tachism work is executed with a homemade mixture poured out of a bottle. I am as loose and innovative as my spontaneity. 

My quest is not to create the illusion of reality but to suggest with colors and composition the inherent nature of the aesthetic object.

Artist Biography

Born and raised in Normandy near The Landing Beaches in north-western France, Gautier developed her love for color and design from nature.

Gautier studied at l’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.  Influenced by the French impressionist painters of the 19th century, she has cultivated a passion for 20th century expressionist painters as well.

 In 1999 Gautier moved to the States and began her professional career as an expressionist abstract painter.

 Her travels across all continents have left a lasting impression on her prolific work.