Anna Kaye’s Portraits of Hope
This artist captures the sublime natural imperfection of forests, flowers and birds in luminous watercolor
ROSA WOODS II
Watercolor on paper, 40 x 33 inches
thesandraphillipsgallery.com
annakayeart.com
THE ARTIST: Anna Kaye
KNOWN FOR: Investigating and meticulously recording the sublime natural imperfection of forests, flowers and birds in luminous watercolor.
COMING TO NATURE: “I grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and every summer we would vacation in northern Michigan. There was this juxtaposition between urban and country and forest, and I just fell in love with the cedar tree forests and the lakes and the animal species and bugs. So, when I moved to Colorado, I felt like I was coming closer to nature.”
ON CONNECTIVITY: “When you think about the vast universe and consider our unique habitat on Earth, it makes our relationship with the environment much more intimate, and significant, and essential to maintain. The interconnectivity of nature inspires me—we all depend on each other to thrive. My artwork deals with rekindling that relationship with nature.”
CYCLES OF FIRE AND FLOWER: “When I moved to Colorado I was struck by the fire cycle. I was fascinated by the way that the natural cycle can be really destructive but at the same time constructive. I go to the fire zones and explore and see what species survive, and make drawings of those species that come back to repopulate the forest.”
TO HOPE: “The flower in the watercolor painting becomes the phoenix in the landscape, a symbol of rebirth and empowerment. When I work with wildfire as a theme it communicates ideas of taking care of nature. I think my tendency is to hope—that we can come out of this, and we can rebuild, and we can strengthen. I find it amazing when species survive, and they push through, and they bloom.”
EARTH EXTRA: Anna Kaye donates a percentage of the sales of her artwork to the Colorado State Forest Service and other environmental organizations.
