Artist Statement.

My paintings are a reflection of what I focus on when my mind becomes too busy... the texture of an old wall, the rust developing on a pipe, the lines and wear on rocks and trees, the rainbow swirl of iridescent gasoline in a puddle, and historical details in the world around me. When your mind is scattered into a kaleidoscope of ideas and tends to fall into anxiety, it is these details around me that calm my mind and sharpen my senses. As a person that has an attention disorder accompanied with debilitating anxiety at times, my hope is to encourage others that have been stifled with stigmas into finding a sense of peace and acceptance through creating and viewing art.

My process is as varied as my mind, and instead of reigning my mind in, I celebrate it by letting it wander and dance through all the visions and feelings that run fast forward in my head. Letting a higher power take the lead and just igniting my spark brings forth organic starting points. As I think and feel along the way, it naturally turns into a more structured idea that comes forth and I work with that. For example, my abstract "Broken Chains" started as something organic with marks, lines and colours. Along the way, I had strong feelings of overcoming stigma and adversity, so I painted what I felt using inspiration from nature and people. Barbed wire came up, so an abstract representation of barbed wire is present. The end result was a painting that bared my soul and came from a place of authenticity.

My goal for the viewers of my paintings is to get lost in the texture and history... finding little surprises along the way. I want them to feel, to enjoy, and to contemplate. For those of you that have a hard time paying attention and struggling with anxiety like myself, or maybe you have suffered in some other way, my hope is that these paintings could be that thing that helps you through your journey of peace and acceptance.

Stephanie Lane