Kristen Dunkelberger
Artist Q & A with Landscape painter from Oregaon USA, Kristen Dunkelberger.
Kristen Dunkelberger is a watercolour landscape painter domiciled in Oregon. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting and Drawing, with a watercolour focus, from the University of North Texas. She has been painting for over 30 years, and has spent the years as a modern nomad, immersed in the landscape through extensive travel and self-propelled adventures.Yoga and movement fuel her creativity.
What ideas are you sharing or exploring through your visual work?
As a modern nomad, I examine my tether to places and landscapes, my relationship to the natural world and the introspection this relationship encourages. Using light, colour, soft shapes and negative space, I convey time and place with reductive simplicity. I’m seeking secrets and meaning in the sublime beauty of our environment as it evolves through climate change.
Materiality of the work is an important aspect for me. Using heavy paper, torn to size – not cut – emphasises the objectness and structure in each piece. The everyday nature of paper lends delicacy and value, rather than preciousness. Small size work brings intimate scale to a large subject.
You describe yourself as a modern nomad, can you share more about your travels and how this influences the art you make?
My travels are typically slow, with a focus on exploring the landscape. They have, in part, involved cycling across the US, Canada and Baja Mexico, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, individual journeys of many months. I’ve travelled extensively tens of thousands of miles – on foot. Among these miles, the longest singular journeys include the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail, in the US. As a rock climber, I’ve travelled throughout the western US, Canada, Mexico and Australia. The many winters I’ve spent backcountry skiing have kept me in the western US and Canada, chasing snow.
Read the full interview on the magazine.