 Willa
Vennema's paintings have been highly influenced by her life-long
association with Swan's Island, where she has summered since
childhood. Her summer medium is acrylic, working quickly in
the sun-sparkled world, painting directly the experienced
moment and the magical light. Winter is about the paint, the
"sensual aspects" of the oils and cold wax, exploring
the inner world where "color, texture shape and line
interweave and eventually tell a story". Together these
worlds intermingle and fully express the deft hand of a painter
looking both within and without, ever-exploring the impact
of one upon the other.
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My work in the studio begins by immersing myself in the
sensual aspects of the paint. It is magical for me the way
color, texture, shape and line interweave and eventually tell
a story. By layering and scratching away at the paint a surface
emerges which seems to have a history; a sense of time past.
Within this painted place, various subjects dwell. Over the
years the subjects I have been drawn to include an androgynous
figure-shape, the tree, house, moon, island and boat. Within
the space of a semi-abstract world, it is important to me
to have subjects which connect the viewer to this world. These
types of archetypal images seem to have the ability to do
that due to their evocative presence.
Currently, I am working on several series: "Porthole
Views", "House Series", "Islands and Ocean"
and "Wave:Hill". This last series reflects what
the title implies, and can be hung in two positions. Each
position encourages the viewer to see the painting afresh
and engage in contemplating whether it is a hill or wave.
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