Tonya Creasman, Artist

My acrylic paintings are rich in layer upon layer of color. I am drawn to nature as my subject matter… butterflies, bugs, animals, flowers and landscapes. Hints of brilliant, even neon, colors painted behind the subject matter pop through to give each painting exciting dimension. Using primarily a palette knife and my fingers to paint with creates unpredictable moments in my paintings.

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My paintings start with a lot of unintentional color and marks covering the canvas. If I don't see something calling out to me, it's time to add more layers of color and textures.

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I tend to find a happy place in my paintings after I smack the paint around, forcing myself to not be so precious about my movements. I have learned that intuitive painting – playing with the paint to see what comes out of it works best for me. Along with that, lots of rich, bright color co-mingling in a lot of layers puts me in my happy place.