painters
Artist Statement
Sky Hoyt
Things I have seen, collected and remembered coalesce into idyllic settings. Much of my work is centered in the garden, whether it's a solitary figure surrounded by flowers in an interior that opens up to the outdoors, or it's figures together in a lush garden filled with blossoms, birds and animals. They are places where ideas of nature, order, peace and the unexpected can be explored. My work is both figurative and abstract. In each painting the whole is most important. The negative spaces vie with the principal objects for attention . The whole effect needs to be of movement, fullness and rhythm. Juxtaposed shapes evoke the movements of nature, such as in the rustling of leaves in the wind. The forms blur the boundaries of reality to invite escape into a world of shapes, colors, pleasure and fullness.
To begin a painting I begin with a sketch directly on the canvas of some primary forms. Sometimes the whole painting takes its direction from a simple flower shape that I noticed on a walk. More objects and spaces emerge then fall away, sometimes leaving altogether if if the space isn’t filling up with a balanced energy. It’s an exercise in letting go of the rational or expected in order to encourage serendipitous accidents.