My figures represent no particular person or personality, but are composites of people combined to create mysterious image. I typically prefer my forms to remain ambiguous and dimly lit to keep them… My figures represent no particular person or personality, but are composites of people combined to create mysterious image. I typically prefer my forms to remain ambiguous and dimly lit to keep them from being representative of a certain person or identifiable figure. As a mixed media artist, I incorporate a variety of materials, including house paint, pastels, charcoal, oil, acrylic, and spray paint, into my work. My choice of materials is dictated by the effects I want to achieve. I like to say Home Depot is my art supply store. I juxtapose real and implied texture with organic forms creating an abstract expressionism figurative artwork that has a visual push and pull. Mixed media painting on gallery wrapped canvas. For original painting or giclee print of this painting, please go to my website: https://www.gailamcfarland.com
Gail A. McFarland is a surrealist painter. Her mixed media artworks incorporate paper, pastels, oil, acrylics, and spray paint. Gail’s choice of materials is determined by the techniques she wants to use and the end-result she wants to achieve. Her primary subjects are women. “I want to…Gail A. McFarland is a surrealist painter. Her mixed media artworks incorporate paper, pastels, oil, acrylics, and spray paint. Gail’s choice of materials is determined by the techniques she wants to use and the end-result she wants to achieve. Her primary subjects are women. “I want to celebrate the strength and wisdom of the female.” Her work often pushes the boundaries of art with her Surrealist style creating a dream-like world of the female experience. Gail juxtaposes real and implied texture with organic forms creating a very unique style. She focuses on exploring womanhood, celebrating female strength and wisdom. “I do have personal symbolism in my work, but I want the viewer to interpret my work by projecting their own story into my work.” When asked why do you paint. She simply responded, “I paint to nourish the human soul”. Gail studied art at the University of Colorado where she concentrated on drawing the human figure, and painting. She has always been drawn to the diversity of the human physique, and that enjoyment was a natural precursor to her career as a figurative artist. After U.C. , she continued to follow her passion in art as an educator and artist. Gail’s work has been showed at the Sundust Gallery in Mesa, AZ, The Millet House in Phoenix, AZ and the Herberger Theater art gallery in Phoenix, AZ. Gail was a child of a military father; she was born in Germany and spent her first six years there. On every opportunity, her family explored the castles, museums, epic landscapes, and forests of Germany. “I have fond memories of the grand architecture, sculptures, and the multitude of gardens”, Gail recalled. “One of my family’s frequent outings was to go to art museums. I remember always getting in trouble for being fixated on a work of art and not keeping up with my family as they wandered from painting to painting. I loved studying the brushstrokes, use of colors and the way the master artists used contrasts of lighting in their paintings. As an adult, I still find myself studying works of art with the same enthusiasm and sense of awe as I had as a child.” Gail now lives in Apache Junction, Arizona, with her husband, two cats, and a dog. She spends her days in her art studio, taking walks, riding her bike with her husband, and swimming. Gail enjoys exploring Arizona. She takes several road trips a year where she gets inspired by the landscape and the people she meets. Gail A. McFarland: https://www.gailamcfarland.com
