Cheryl Kast

Fort Wayne, IN

Artist Website: www.wildnatureartstudio.com

Bio:

I’ve spent almost 5 decades traveling the United States hiking and taking pictures in National Parks and Forests and State parks.  Sometimes I would carry my oils and easel, finding a quiet spot, chasing the right moment when the light hits just right and the landscape stops being just scenery, and turns into something holy.

My paintings are not flat or delicate.  It’s Impasto.  My work has texture, weight, and movement.  I paint with thick layers of oil paint using only palette knives.  I don’t blend, I layer and sculpt, building it up.  That’s how nature feels.  Rugged. Sharp. Alive.  This technique takes a lot of time. Because each layer needs to build the right way.

I paint what I’ve experienced.  Every trail I painted, I’ve walked it.  Every storm, I’ve stood in it.  Every ridge, I’ve earned it.

Artist Statement:

My artwork is modern impressionism of nature and done with palette knives. I apply multiple layers to develop high tactile texture that creates an impasto technique with active vivid colors in oil.