Page 146 - Masters

master

bETTE RIdGEWAY

Lives and works in Santa Fe, NM, USA

SEARCH THE ARTIST ONLINE www.ridgewaystudio.com

Ridgeway’s abstract paintings
on stainless steel and aluminum
have evolved over several
years of experimentation with
a variety of media on metals.
They are the direct opposite
of her signature work which is
dominated by very transparent
acrylics that are flowed onto
linen. The new work is denser,
more intricate and yet manifests
a rich luminosity achieved by the
glossy finish. She has developed
this new technique through a
combination of chance, intuition
and control. In essence, the
artist has been “seduced by
steel,” and its reflective surface;
challenging her technical skills
and titillating her love of color.
This work has allowed Ridgeway
to explore the incredible variety
of patterns created by nature
in the micro and macrocosm;
using attraction and opposition,
tension and release. Pattern can
be seen all around us when we
look longer and deeper. Painting
for this artist is a practice of
being in the moment, being in
nature, a continual challenge
where process is allowed, not
made to happen. Pouring and
flowing the paint on the hard,
unyielding mirror-finish metal,
she takes advantage of the
viscous, watery conditions for
images to emerge and grow
before her eyes, reminiscent of
time-lapse photography. She
says of this technique, “Never
have I been so challenged and so
richly rewarded. The more risks
I take, the more satisfaction I
feel. As a painter, this is what
 La FOrZa DeL DestINO I, 2007 ACRYLIC ON STEEL 24x424 IN. / 60x60 CM. fuels my passion – for color,
 La FOrZa DeL DestINO III, 2007 ACRYLIC ON STEEL 24x424 IN. / 60x60 CM.  surface and finish. I love it!”
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