Nature Morph

Goldfinch by Amy Ross

Goldfinch by me

I had wanted to learn to paint for years. My natural inclinations towards watercolor drew my gaze in its general direction and recently more specifically on the artist Amy Ross. I found her by chance in a publication of the up-and-comingers in the art world and fell in love with her simplicity, singularity, and beauty right away. As soon as I was home I googled her images and information online. I have learned to paint by studying and attempting to recreate her style.

Amy Ross describes her art thus:

"My drawings offer visual hypotheses to the question: what would happen if the DNA sequence of a plant or mushroom were spliced with that of an animal?" (ref)

Her artwork is a type of hyper realism that leaves one feeling peaceful rather than shocked at the fantastical images. They suggest a unity between all living things: man & beast, hunter & hunted, blossoms & birds in a sort of matter-of-fact magnificence. It seems natural that a sheep is born of a magnolia blossom, that a female hunts fowl in the woods like a wolf, or that the fox hunting a rabbit both have the same roots.

The best thing about her art is that everything else is swallowed in white space, while one submissively regards the one single image, the unity of all living.



The full painting by Amy Ross. These were based . . .


. . . on these from her backyard.