Our Secret Garden, 2021

Vern Rollin  

Artist Statement:

I was born in Key West, Florida and grew up in Florida, California and Texas. As a child, I had a passion for art. I spent my early years hiking and exploring rural Texas and always with my home made Cigar Box art kit. I sketched and painted everything that touched me and shared the results with a loving, understanding and very patient family.
I began my professional career as a Fine Art artist in 1988, creating Landscapes, Abstracts and Mixed Media constructions. My work is a reflection of my love for nature, and of a lifelong journey in pursuit of harmony, understanding and balance. I have traveled extensively and my work has been heavily influenced by my journey so far, the places I have been and the people I have met along the way.
After two years studying Psychology I decided to follow my heart and immersed myself in my career as an artist. I have never looked back. Through personal studies and workshops I expanded my technical skills, techniques, and knowledge of Art History but I have always felt as an artist, my greatest achievements came from inner feeling, emotion, and respect for my vision, my born gifts and my craft. I have won multiple awards as a sculptor, a painter and a Mixed Media artist. I believe that growth as an artist can only be achieved by continual change and a desire to constantly improve.
I create each painting to be felt and enjoyed for a long time. My collectors honor me when they buy one of my paintings and knowing that they have chosen it to be a part of their environment, pushes me to continually grow as an artist and as a person. I have been a Fine Artist for over thirty years selling my work through Galleries and highly juried Art Shows but I am now concentrating on spending more time in the studio and less time on the road.
My work is a record of my journey and of my love and observation of the world close up. It is a blessing to be able to express my thoughts, perceptions and feelings and share it with others. To be paying for my time here by doing something worthwhile and be leaving something for future generations, has enriched my life.
I learned to paint on the land itself by watching the play of sunlight across fields, filtering through trees, or reflecting on water. Hundreds of hours in nature, hiking, painting and studying, along with more workshops than I can remember, have shaped me into the artist I am today.
Painting is not my work. It is my life. It is my reason to be here and I paint to reach beyond my life and communicate without words, in a way that is real and with no illusion.
Most of the techniques I use in my work I developed over years of trial and experiment. I carefully plan each painting and stay with each piece until it meets the expectation of my original vision. I paint on carefully textured canvas and then use a process of addition and subtraction to create the images I want.The works are created using many layers. I use the highest quality materials including, Acrylic, Charcoal, powdered pigments, ink and stains. I have sold so far, in my career, over 2300 original Artworks.
I currently live in the quiet countryside of Poetry, Texas.

Education:

2 Years Psychology United States Armed Forces Institute
Studied: Richard Schmid
Studied: Margaret Kessler
Numerous Workshops

Awards & Distinctions:

Best of Show Weems Artfest Albuquerque
Best in Media Winterfair Columbus, Ohio
Best in Media Winterfair Cincinatti, Ohio
Purchase Award Mill Ave. Merchants Tempe, Az.
Best of Show Flagstaff Festival Flagstaff, Az.
2nd Overall Winterpark Art Show Orlando, Fl.
Purchase Award Pink Palace Museum Memphis, Tn.
1st Mixed Media Virginia Beach Art Center Va.
Las Olas Art Fest Ft Lauderdale Fl.
1st Mixed Media Dallas 500 Artfest Dallas
2 Purchase Awards Oklahoma City Festival Oklahoma
1st Mixed Media Bayou City Art Fest Houston, Tx.
1st Mixed Media Boston Mills Artfest Peninsula, Oh.

Exhibitions:

Sausalito Art Festival, Sausalito Ca.
Coconut Grove Art Festival, Miami Fl.
Scottsdale Pavilions Art Fair, Scottsdale Az.
Indian Wells Art Festival, Palm Desert Ca.
Old Town Chicago Festival, Chicago
Uptown Art Festival, Minneapolis, Mn
Santa Fe Plaza Art Festival, Santa Fe, N.M.
I have participated in over 400 Indoor and Outdoor Art Festivals over the last 30 Years

Permanent Collections:
Hill Country Marriott, San Antonio, Tx.
Dallas Omni Hotel, Dallas, Tx. 50 Paintings
Mill Ave Merchants Collection, Tempe, Az.
Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Oh
Marc S Seriff Collection, Austin, Tx
 

Artistic Influences:

Richard Schmid
Gerhard Richter
Antoni Tapies
Vasudeo Gaitonde
The Earth
Anselm Kiefer