Artwork (with permission from the artist):
Forest Patterns
© Mandy Budan
16" x 20"
Acrylic on Panel
Canadian acrylic artist Mandy Budan's work is unexpected and striking. Her Etsy avatar was my first glimpse of her art, and always curious about another Canadian artist, I checked out her shop on Etsy. What a brilliant surprise!
What I'd assumed to be a contemporary abstract painting went far beyond that. The kaleidoscope of shapes and colors transformed into a beautiful summer landscape. I was fascinated.
Artwork (with permission from the artist):
Last Rose of Summer
© Mandy Budan
18" x 24"
Acrylic on Panel
By day, Mandy's a "mild-mannered graphic designer", to quote her own words. But by night, she recreates the scenery, decomposing sky, trees, leaves and flowers into discrete shapes and colors. Ordinary details are re-imagined as geometric designs, but with the structure, patterns, and rhythms of the natural world.
Mandy's strong use of color strikes a chord with me. Hues are vibrant and create stunning contrasts. My favorite thing about her work is the feeling I get of coming in and out of the painting, of seeing abstract forms one minute and an entire landscape vista the next.
Artwork:
Mist Patterns
© Mandy Budan
9" x 12"
Acrylic on Panel
Mandy's blog, features her paintings in progress. I'm filled with curiosity about her translation of reference pictures into her painting concepts and then to preliminary drawings. Her preliminary drawings are intricate, to say the least.
Looking through her portfolio of work, the finished paintings vary in their levels of abstraction. Some are barely recognizable as landscapes while the scenes of other pieces jump right out. It makes for a refreshing variety. Diverse color palettes and subjects also keep the viewer interested. Make sure you browse her abstract landscape art website to see her entire portfolio.