“Growing up in a very isolated region of Northern Canada,” Patricia Gray says, “I developed a close kinship with the natural world as a young child.” That kinship is the basis for her art, in which the patterns and textures of nature are turned into graphically striking images. Sometimes painting on birch panels, she allows the physicality of her materials to reveal the innate qualities of the world she depicts. Working in acrylic paints, gels, pastes, and grounds, Gray employs a bold color palette and fluid style to give her landscapes a presence that captures the essence of the wilderness while unveiling a vivid interior world.
From the shapes of her images—which often take the long, narrow dimensions of a tree reaching toward the sky—to the importance that the circle, with its connotations of totality and timelessness, assumes in her work, Gray is sensitive to the spiritual power of nature’s forms. She says that she intends for each painting to serve as “a portal for transformation” for her viewers. The artist lives and works in Canada.