I am a 20-year-old artist drawing inspiration from the landscapes that surround me, here in the Pacific Northwest. Now over a year after graduating college, I have made it my goal to become financially supported by my art.
I grew up in Western Washington before moving to Eastern Washington when I was twelve. Every summer since I was born I traveled up to Southeast Alaska, living in a rugged off-the-grid cabin on a completely remote island for two months. I've since spent four seasons working in Juneau on whale-watching vessels. All the while my love for the dramatic, gorgeous landscape and wildlife grew and grew. During the off season, I returned home to my roots in Eastern Washington and focus on developing my paintings and writings.
I thrive on adventure. My dream life is traveling over North America, drawing inspiration from natural landscapes, in between returning to my studio to create art that speaks of the landscapes and their connections to our inner selves.
Colt Island Works is my business, a way to show the world my art. The name comes from an island in Southeast Alaska that I hold very near to my heart and my heritage. A lot of my work, probably more than even I realize, comes from this place in my heart, both through memories and themes. It only seemed fitting to name my business after this island and everything it means to me.
Recently I have been exploring the relationship between the inner self and how it correlates with the natural landscape that surrounds us, through both written word (poetry) and visual imagery (acrylics and oils). I have drawn particular inspiration from learning about mycelial systems and the inner life of trees, along with learning about the cycle of life in the coastal waters of Alaska. I have a very deep connection not only to the earth, but also to the sea. I am working on collecting works throughout all my years creating of pieces with the themes of soil and salt for a bigger project. More to come on that soon.
I’ve always loved drawing, but when I was fifteen I decided I wanted to be a “real painter”. I bought some cheap acrylic paints, a mixed media sketchbook, and some cheap brushes. And I haven’t stopped painting since. I am entirely self-taught. In 2023, I moved into a studio space with more room and the ability to not worry about getting paints on the walls or the floor, and it has been an amazing experience.
I didn’t paint nearly as much in my last couple years of college, in 2021 and 2022. I was living in a small apartment and didn’t have the means to work on larger paintings. I did keep a sketchbook and also really developed my writing style in poetry.
After graduation, I moved back home and had the space to keep working. I bounced between different seasonal jobs, and between those I worked on my paintings. Noelle Bowden, a very dear friend of mind whom I met in college, is an intuitive painter. She taught me the basics of intuitive painting, and for a lot of 2023 I worked mainly intuitively. These are the more abstract paintings in my portfolio. Now, as of 2024, I’ve started shifting to working on top of intuitive paintings, developing them into landscapes that speak to my connection with the land around me.
I first started selling prints late 2020, and started selling stickers mid 2023. My shop was located on Etsy, but I decided it was the smarter decision for my art business to move to my own website. I plan on starting to sell prints again, making them in-house this time, in April of 2024!
