A PORTAL TO THE AWE OF WILD PLACES
Artwork exploring landscape and our bond with the natural world
““The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only paradise we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need, if only we had the eyes to see.””
Katie Jett Walls’ abstract paintings evoke landscapes rich in natural elements - moss, stone, canyons, mycelium, and geology. Walls employs deep layers of color and repetition of shape, inviting the eye to interact with the textures, interplay of positive and negative space, and subtle markings. Skirting around the representational, she ultilizes the language of abstraction to translate experiences, memory, and observation into color, form, and surface.
“Much of my inspiration comes from the natural landscapes where I spend time, particularly places where slow time is visible. I am drawn to the progress of moss on stone, the trace of wind against canyon walls, the shifting paths of a river, and other forms shaped slowly by environmental forces. These landscapes inform my work as starting point for palettes, rhythms, and compositional structures.
I am interested particularly interested in how a place is experienced over time: how light shifts, how color changes with season and weather, and how memory reshapes what we think we saw. Some series are informed by specific locations, including Utah canyon country and other protected public lands, while others emerge from closer-to-home experiences such as hiking in Washington, DC’s Rock Creek Park. These places become sources of visual and emotional information rather than subjects to be illustrated.”
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Journal notes and articles by Katie about her process and work.
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