I see the landscape as both sentimental and prophetic. Through layering and editing on canvas, I grapple with the idea of progress as it’s often defined in our society, while recognizing that everything in the world is temporary. The landscapes I paint are imagined and often in a state of flux, reflecting cycles of birth, death, and renewal.
Although my paintings may appear unbalanced or even dystopian, I use a playful color palette to bring in a sense of hope and contradiction. By combining nature-inspired imagery with architectural forms, I explore the tension between human activity and the natural world. My process itself mirrors these themes. Layers of paint are built up, scraped back, and reworked, just as we build upon, disrupt, and reshape our surroundings. Sometimes the brush is controlled and precise, like our efforts to plan and contain nature; other times it’s loose and gestural, evoking the wild, unpredictable forces that resist our control.
Ultimately, I want my paintings to convey the energy, the movement, the breathing environment. These elements remind us of nature’s immense power and the uncertainty that comes with it, but also our connection to it.
MEGAN D. KRAUSE 