international painting annual 6 exhibition-in-print
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Terry Strickland
Pelham, Alabama

strcklnd@bellsouth.net

terrystricklandart.com




detail image

statement

My paintings begin as personal inspirations and narratives, but I have discovered that once they are translated with paint, they become universal stories, and my models become stand-ins for everyman. When people from different backgrounds respond with empathy to the situations in my paintings or when they identify with the models, I realize how much more alike than different we humans are.

I explore the idea that change is turbulent and painful and is the one constant in life. This can be seen in evolving personal relationships, dramatic weather pattern shifts, and during times of social upheaval and cultural change.

The ongoing Incognito Project is at the heart of much of my work. I play with the concept that a choice of costume can reveal or conceal.

Other themes include thoughts on relationships, love, and death. Many times I will use fairy tales, myths or pop culture references to get at those themes.

The one constant in my work is human connection. My favorite way to paint a model is boldly and unabashedly making eye contact. There is a magical point in every painting process when the paint becomes a person. Oil and minerals slathered around the canvas are transformed into a person looking back at me. Since eye contact activates the dopaminergic centers in the brain, whether it is eye contact with a real person or a painted image, I admit it must be an addiction with me.

My ideas start with a wisp of something provocative to me. It could be a sentence from a conversation, a book, song lyrics, or a visual cue from a person, or nature. I journal thoughts and ideas so that they donít slip away. The ideas build on each other, associations are made and concepts come together in my mind. This process doesnít seem to want to be hurried and will present itself with time. Next I find a model to match a concept then I begin the long process of designing the piece, collecting props, putting it all together and finally get to the painting stage.

 

 

 

bio

born: 1960, Plant City, FL

 

education

University of Central FL, BFA, 1982

 

selected awards/honors

1st Place, Outside the Box Category, Members Only, Portrait Society of America, 2013
Chairman's Prize, Art Renewal Center International Salon, 2011-2012
Portrait Cover Contest 1st Place Winner, Professional Artist Magazine, 2011
Alabama Artist 2-D Award, Red Clay Survey Regional Juried Show, Huntsville Museum of Art, 20078

 

selected publications

American Art Collector Magazine, Celebrating Art of Women by Women, p. 158-159, Sept 2015
The Sag Harbour Express, When Women See Themselves, by Annette Hinkle Section B2 Oct 02, 2014
The Sag Harbour Express, When Women See Themselves, by Annette Hinkle Section B2 Oct 02, 2014
American Arts Quarterly, Review of the WPW:(R)evolution show at Principle Gallery. By Gail Leggio, p. 55-58, Fall 2013

 

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Folk Art Gallery, The Incognito Project, Solo Show, Birmingham, AL, 2012
Peterson-Cody Gallery, The Story With-in, two person show with Forrest Soiis, Santa Fe, NM, 2011
Gadsden Museum of Art, Alabama's Finest Series Solo Show, Gadsden, AL, 2010
Mississippi University for Women, Eugenia Summer Gallery, Solo Retrospective, Columbus, MS, 2009

 

selected group shows

Haynes Galleries: Celebrating Art of Women by Women, Thomaston, ME, and Nashville, TN, 2015
Richard J Demato Gallery: 2nd Annual Women Painting Women Show, Sag Harbor, NY, 2014
Principle Gallery: Women Painting Women-5th Anniversary & International Juried Exhibit, 2014
Haynes Galleries: Celebrating the Portrait as Art, Thomaston, ME, and Nashville, TN, 2014

 

 

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