Tessa Greene O'Brien "Surf Point Chair," oil on linen, 21 x 17 in, $2,500

Artist Statement

I view painting as a framework through which I can deepen my understanding of my life and of the world around me. My painting practice prompts me to look slowly and closely at the details of the places I inhabit, and to give attention to the energy and characteristics of the people around me. While I root my practice in observation & storytelling, I often look towards abstract painting processes, freely borrowing techniques such as pouring, staining, dying, and scraping to achieve my visual aims. I consider myself a lifelong student on the history of painting, always leaving room in the studio for play, experimentation, and discovery.

Currently I am working primarily in oil, and alternating between traditional oil ground preparations on linen and a starting surface of colorful dyed canvas. Each technique presents unique ways to amplify light and color, and I am interested in how a strong sense of light and color have the potential to create an emotional experience for the viewer by adding a layer of storytelling to otherwise mundane depictions of daily life. The moments that I choose to paint are familiar to me, diaristic snapshots imbued with a color-induced layer of mystery or magic. I recall how places appear in dreams or memory, with spotty details, hazy blurs, or sharp contrast, and ask myself how I might make the paint act as such.

My paintings range in scale from postcard sized to large-scale murals, and these dramatic scale shifts affect my approach to painting-making. By regularly changing the studio parameters for myself, I strive to keep discovering new ways to connect with the viewer and to satisfy my own eyeballs. I am perpetually interested in the possibilities of paint as a medium of communication, contemplation, and invention.

Created: 2022

Attribution: Courtesy Dowling Walsh Gallery

Bio

Tessa Greene O’Brien is a Maine-based artist with a multi-faceted painting practice, working in a variety of mediums and scales that range from architectural exterior murals to postcard-sized watercolor painting. She is perpetually interested in the possibilities of paint, and a lifelong student of art history. O'Brien paints moments of her life from memory & from observation as loose colors-capes, always turning an eye towards light and shadow.

O’Brien has shown throughout the United States, including solo exhibitions at Dowling Walsh Gallery and Elizabeth Moss Galleries, and has attended residencies & fellowships at the Lunder Institute, Surf Point Foundation, the Tides Institute, Monson Arts, Open Studio Residency at Haystack, Hewnoaks, Vermont Studio Center, Joseph A Fiore Art Center, and the Stephen Pace House residency. Her practice has received support through grants including the St Boltophs Emerging Artist Grant, Ellis Beauregaurd Travel Grant, Maine Arts Commissions Project Grant, The Joseph A. Fiore Painting Prize, Kindling Fund Grant through SPACE Gallery, and a Professional Development Grant through Maine College of Art. She is a co-director of Able Baker Contemporary Gallery, and lives in South Portland, ME.