I was originally inspired by the natural beauty of Kansas sunrises and sunsets out in the country where the only silhouette forms were prairie grasses and twisted, dead trees. I fell in love with the roughness of the trees and grasses against the texture of the skies. I find a lot of intricate beauties in Kansas sunrises and sunsets paired with the silhouettes of the landscape. I wanted to somehow capture my love of Kansas as my home and the beauty I find in colors and textures and incorporate them into my work. With my work I try to capture the colors and textures along with implied texture in the flora. There is a layered, almost messy quality of the skies that I love, but also a controlled quality in the dark silhouettes of the trees and grasses. I want the viewer to think of a time when the beauty of nature took their breath away similar to my own experience with Kansas' natural beauty. I use acrylic paint in all of my paintings; for the skies I use a palette knife technique and for the silhouettes of the nature I use a variety of small painting brushes.
-Angela Mitchell
