JESSICA SINGERMAN

This week we hear from Winston Salem artist Jessica Singerman, one of the state’s accomplished abstract women painters whose work was recently seen in GreenHill’s Winter Show. Singerman is well-known for her vibrantly intuitive paintings that negotiate a luscious intermediary zone between abstraction and representation. Vivid hues, calligraphic line and lively paint handling suggest the natural world but seen through the lens of a heightened state of awareness:
 
“Abstraction is the most intuitive way for me to explore the sensorial aspect of living. Working with color, line, shape, and composition is the way that I process these sensations and explore the connection between space, movement, and time, as well as the natural world, maps, and memory.”

On the dialog between representation and abstraction in her work the artist states:

“Most of my work, whether abstract or representational, comes from my experience in the outdoors. When I am outside working in plein air (such as Thursday Morning, Beagle Road) the work is more obviously about the landscape. When I make my more abstract pieces such as Pilot Mountain 9, I am still thinking of the outdoors, but more in terms of my experience in nature. Abstraction is a way for me to explore all of the sensorial aspects of being outside: the rhythm of steps while hiking, the whir and clicks on a bike ride, the changing shapes of light and shadow between trees, the sound of bird song. . . 

I also practice painting and drawing from life because it’s something that I enjoy very much and that I have done since I was a teenager… and it helps keep my hand and my eyes sharp! What I draw and paint from life works itself into my more abstract pieces - a memory of a particular color or shadow or edge of shape - these elements show up in my abstract work.”

Singerman shares her love for the outdoors through her painter’s blog and teaching practice. When asked for suggestions for creative breaks during social distancing, she jumped in, offering weekly exercises including the following technique for creating botanical drawings at home from small flowers and common leaves.

She notes:  “In challenging times like what we are experiencing, finding moments of calm is a healing practice that can help bring meaning to our lives.”

Born in Bangor, Maine in 1980, Jessica Singerman lived alternatively in France and the United States during her early life. Singerman earned her BA from the College of William & Mary, Virginia, and her Masters of Fine Arts in 2004 from the University of Delaware while on a fellowship. Her watercolors are the subject of a book published in 2017, Little Watercolor Squares, and her award-winning paintings and drawings are exhibited and collected internationally.