an exploration in color.

“we are here in the most divine and beautiful country. . . . such trees! . . . and what colors in the birds, the fish, even the crayfish (sky blue and yellow)! so far we’ve been running about like fools; in the first three days we couldn’t recognize anything; one throws away one thing in order to grab the next. bonpland assures me that we will go mad if the wonders do not cease soon.”
- alexander von humboldt , famed prussian explorer of the americas, in a letter to his brother, 1799

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

hi! I’m olivia, and I’m a painter and floral designer in burnsville, nc. I work in my home studio, and each piece I made is thoughtfully curated by hand mixed colors. I’ll tell you a bit about myself and how I landed here.
______________________________________________________

growing up in florida among brackish waters and swamps, I had a deep love and desire to experience other climates besides the one I felt trapped in at a young age. fascinated by the desert having never been, and enamored with the blue ridge mountains of north carolina that I frequently visited as a child, I had an entrenched ache to be somewhere else when I felt trapped on the panhandle.

being a problematic and restless teenager- which now I blame on my intrinsic errantry- my parents sent me to a boarding school in arizona. existing in the desert, swallowed by canyons without contact with friends, music, or exposure to the outside world for an entire year while I battled my most enigmatic demons, led me to a pivotal discovery. although puzzled by it, I felt at peace in the desert. I took a painting class, I studied biology, I began crocheting- and started to realize that I had been subconsciously collecting color palettes from my surroundings. I noticed the dusty blue sky against the rock formations. I knew that colors are generally controlled by accessory minerals and compounds of iron and organic carbon, and that fascinated me. I made art about it.

returning to florida after having lived in arizona, I felt that ever-persistent need to roam again. I packed up and moved to the PNW in my early twenties, fairly impulsively, after deciding not to pursue an art degree at SCAD. here, I revisited my need to associate and integrate the natural world with art and color- and learned floral design.

painting was swept under the rug entirely during my floral career, until I had lived here for about seven years. some tiny voice inside of my dome was telling me how much I needed to paint again, over and over. it never really clicked until I had started collecting marbled pottery, odd pieces of wood and rock, vintage desert paintings and art for years- and finally set in when I drunk online ordered a few books on arizona. I had some unfinished business with color, specifically the colors that I had so keenly observed while living in the desert that I needed to do.

my idea for this series hit me literally in the middle of the night, like a ton of fucking bricks. why haven’t I ever taken the colors that I have felt so inspired by throughout my entire life, and organized them on canvas? why can’t I take the things that have inspired me- mineral formations, topography, volcanic pools, agates- and put them on paper subjectively?

I truly believe that in each of us, there is an innate recognition and desire, an umwelt, for observing the colors of the natural world. it resonates differently in each of us based on personal experience. whether it was the vibrant ochre & cadmium fall leaves against the icy blue crater lake you visited one year, or the sage green & honey colored volcanic hot spring you loved the most that summer in yellowstone- I seek to inspire nostalgia and a sense of belonging in my paintings. colors have deep emotional ties with each of us, and I want to make the specific colors that we each feel a connection with tangible- I want them to almost feel edible.