Stacey Vetter
Artist Statement
I am an artist living in Northern California who works with botanical forms. My obsession with plants started while growing up in the lush climate of the San Francisco Bay Area. The day I learned how to do a contour drawing of a rose was life changing. The approach taught me how to see order in the chaos of the petals: an endeavor that still holds my interest to this day. I studied art on both the east and west coasts, earning my BFA from the Boston Museum School/Tufts and my MFA from the University of California, Davis. My paintings and drawings have been exhibited at the Prince Street Gallery (NYC), Crocker Museum, Santa Rosa Museum of Art, Kirkland Art Center (Kirkland WA), Richard L. Nelson Gallery (UC Davis) and University of Nevada (Reno).
Led by simple forms and a minimal palette, a drawing starts with direct observation of a plant, looking and drawing until a shape emerges that feels just right. The way pigment and water flow on paper is another vital element of my process; I am searching for the balance between control and accident. Instead of a literal representation of nature, my work aims to convey the essence or mood of a botanical specimen.
Categories: Artists, painting, watercolor, works on paper
