Lynn Sisler & Sarah Steedman: Beautiful Remnants

Lynn Sisler

Artist Statement

My work stems from a deep longing to tell flora and fauna stories interconnected with remnants of memory, imagination and a constructed spiritual ecology. These remnants— ghostly vestiges of sorts—leave a residue behind after a loss, and are evidence of ever-present change and cycles in the living world. My paintings celebrate the unpredictability, mystery, and chaos of the cosmos through expressive color, sensitive lines, and vibrant patterns; all of which help to re-envision different ways of seeing and ponder alternative realities. Flowers decorate the animals, and the animals eulogize the flowers in a symbiotic relationship. Figures overlap to create new affinities and kinships, evoking an ethereal space and imagined narratives in a magical, folkloric construct. The nature of oil paint allows me to explore what is hidden and what comes into the light, both compositionally and metaphorically.

I came across the delightful collection of color swatches in the 19th-century
text, Werner’s Nomenclature, that Charles Darwin used to identify colors in nature during his voyage on the HMS Beagle. This discovery acts as a road map of intentional hues, corresponding to the flora and fauna in my work. Like Darwin, I am also playing naturalist, finding and matching colors to beautiful creatures that come up in my remembrance. In my current paintings, I'm exploring what associations color can have when they are the foundation of a work, and how the painting’s process and story unfolds based on that initial hue. For instance, Childhood Fables is grounded in Werner’s swatch, bluish-green, the color of a thrush egg. It reminds me of my blue-painted childhood bedroom and the various living and non-living animal figures that surrounded me there, witnessing the journey into adulthood. It’s the color of comfort and the feeling of belonging, permeating in and around the earth in an ancient, protective, and connective membrane—but it is also impalpable and elusive.

The process of painting requires several weeks, as much of the work is done with a small brush. It is incredibly tedious at times but allows for concentration, meditation, and absorption of the task. The time within the process allows me to reflect on introspective matters as my conscious and subconscious mind allows for, but simultaneously, accedes to be present with what is right in front of me.

Artist statement
Sarah Steedman
Portland, ME
2024

As an artist, I have a drive to be creative every day. I feel at home in my studio with a paintbrush in my hand, or with a sewing machine whirring in front of me, or knitting a pair of socks with my knitting needles. I value handmade things like embroidered fabrics, knit sweaters, woven textiles, ceramic bowls, vases overflowing with flowers and hand carved utensils. I love folk art, outsider art and identify with artists with a compulsion for self expression. I also take inspiration from the historically woman’s work of raising children and of keeping a nourishing home through love, food, warmth, color and light. I celebrate the most simple of gifts like a bouquet of summer garden flowers, a pair of hand knit mittens, or a delicious meal. Gifts like these reveal the love and time that went into making someone feel honored. That feeling is what I strive to capture in my paintings. 

As a daughter and mother, there are moments I want to remember forever, especially ones involving the people I love, because they bring me a feeling of peace and understanding that there is good in the world. There are also moments I’d like to forget but can’t, feelings of shame, pain, and loss, which I acknowledge are a part of life. My mother recently passed away bringing forth so many happy memories but also grief now that she is gone. I am so grateful for her presence and for what she taught me. She taught me about the joy that exists all around us despite life’s challenges. I try to teach this to my own children. My recent paintings depict life’s transformation through the visual form of butterflies which are thought to be a symbol of the souls of loved ones, through our natural environment which is constantly moving through cycles of birth, life and death, and in imaginary places which are a meditative escape.