Quiet spaces
This story was featured in the November 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
Wisconsin artist Kate Mueller rarely misses her daily morning jaunt into the nearby countryside with her dog Chipper. During those cherished walks, she routinely spots the peaceful rural scenes that she captures in lush layers of oil paint, alla prima style, after returning to her studio. “I work right away, while I have a scene in my mind—the energy, the mood, the light—before it fades,” says the Midwest native. “My goal is ultimately to get to the point where every brush mark I make on the canvas is eloquent, is necessary.”
Mueller’s mother and father were artists, and there was always music wafting through her childhood home, not to mention plenty of art books to study. So it wasn’t surprising when Mueller herself pursued fine-art studies at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay and then moved to San Francisco, CA, to study illustration at the Academy of Art University with artists like Thomas Blackshear, who saw in his student the makings of a fine artist. Encouraged by Blackshear’s words of confidence, Mueller headed to Chicago to study classical oil painting at the American Academy of Art.
Although she eventually embarked on a 14-year career in illustration, Mueller never abandoned her passion for fine art, and in 2016, she began painting full time. Today, she finds herself most inspired by quiet, simple displays of beauty, be it an arrangement of onions, a light-dappled river, or a cow napping in a pasture. “I like pieces that are a little bit hidden in shadow that don’t just jump out at you,” says Mueller. “It’s a theme I’m noticing in my landscapes, my still lifes, and even in my animals—how light and shadow create an intimate moment.” —Kim Agricola
Mueller is represented by www.kmuellerart.com.
This story was featured in the November 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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