Gail Ragains

   Seven Time Art Party Participant
Solo Swimmer


Artist’s Website

gailragains.com

 

Artist’s Statement

I paint like a jazz musician improvises. Starting from the roots and a strong foundation, I branch out and make it my own. I am a physical and expressive painter. The more I can move and dance around the canvas, the more connected I am to the painting.

 

From Abstract to Expressionistic, I like to push the envelope with bold, gestural brushstrokes and compelling colors. Whether I’m painting the figure, landscape or a still-life, I look for abstract shapes, stripping away the non-essentials to give a loose interpretation of form and movement, a strong interpretation of feeling and expression. I lose myself in the studio. Each painting is a new experience.

 

I paint in the moment.

 

If I start out with a plan, it most likely will change. If I stick to a plan, it will most likely fail. I let the canvas tell me where it wants to go.

 

I’ve been told that my loose and exuberant brushwork and lively pallet is reminiscent of the Bay Area Figurative Movement, yet my work contains a freshness and sincerity that is all my own.

 

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and live in Redwood City with my husband, Joe, and our dog, Tango.