a b o u t t h e a r t i s t
My work focuses on the everyday rural life of cowgirls, farms, and country households. The impetus for my content is my close ties with rural Colorado. My parents were farmers who struggled financially to raise their four children and two siblings. We lived a bucolic life, often moving between the country and town. They worked hard at many jobs in farming, trucking, and bakeries. My work helps piece together my pastoral history and connect me with the parts I miss. My work gives me an excuse to be around these people and places I'm most comfortable with and allows me to re-enter that world for a few rare moments and capture that emotion in my paintings.
I'm a mixed media artist, mainly working in watercolor from my photographs by planning out the canvas, investigating the details, and breaking apart the scenes by manipulating them with computer techniques to reposition the elements or transform the image through filters. I experiment with the layout, color, and technique by constructing small practice drawings and paintings, which sometimes become the finished piece. When I work in watercolor and ink, I try to capture surprising details in a common subject. When working in acrylic or oil, I build layers of texture and paint expressionistic images with exaggerated color. The challenge and encompassing feeling of working with a large surface is where I'm most comfortable.
~ Feb 2025
© 2023 by CHRIS HARPER TRIPLETT
