Blind Spot - PAIGE DEVRIES

My artwork evolved from one of the things I enjoy doing every day, walking my dog. I have never been one to sit down and meditate but my daily walks are the closest I have come to being in the moment and appreciative of my immediate world. My subject matter comes from what I see, then photograph as I walk through my suburban neighborhood in Algiers. The paintings I create depict the plants I observe, sometimes intentionally planted other times growing despite the man-made environment. These small scale oil paintings reflect the preciousness, humor, neglect and sometimes slightly magical state of our surroundings. The color palette glows with the warmth of the rising and setting sun. In some areas the paint is no more than a washy underpainting and in other areas it is highly layered and detailed.

In my current work I take the unselfconscious appreciation I feel when I am walking and photographing my subject matter and bring that into my studio practice. My goal is to make paintings that capture the intimate way people and plants coexist. Though people are not the physical subject of my artwork, the impact of the human “hand” on our natural surroundings is always present in my paintings. In these artworks the plants and landscape imagery reflect the choices people have made to assert their own aesthetics and control over their environment. These works are a collection of quiet moments that convey a kind of beauty and discovery specific to this city and point in time.