Carol Phifer

The deeply felt poetic quality of color is the single most compelling aspect of painting for me. I use chalk pastels for my initial color explorations and compositional studies, creating roadmaps for larger oil paintings. I have developed a process that uses a combination of acrylic medium, brush and palette knife work to create a soft dusty texture in my paintings that is very tactile. This process also creates a sense of history with subtle layers of brush marks and textures. Like the walls in a very old home, they have a sense of presence.

Old houses and barns for me evoke a heart response rooted in a desire for connection to family and community. The family cattle ranch in Wyoming was a touchstone for me growing up. I return to these images again and again. In the juxtaposition of traditional subjects and contemporary rendering I am exploring the tensions between permanence and decay, between temporal and infinite.