Louise Arnold

Artist Statement

In my work I strive to interweave the internal and external landscapes that I inhabit. The outer world serves to illuminate and plays a formative part in developing my inner ethos which in turn absorbs and transforms the external landscape that I am painting -- making it a truly reciprocal relationship. Even though I am a representational painter, I do not select a particular subject merely because it makes a "pretty scene". I have a predilection for landscapes that I know intimately and that help to elucidate a thought, idea or emotion, or serve to recall a long dormant memory. This is sometimes a conscious act, but is just as often a subconscious process that reveals itself over time. For me "God is in the detail." Neveretheless, any given work is meant to add up to more than the sum of its parts. The overall structure takes precedence over the various elements within a given painting and they in turn help to elucidate the whole. I work both "en plein air" and in my studio.