My work has been inspired by an Eastern tradition the Chinese call Shanshui or "mountains and water”. My time in Hawaii as an undergraduate and the art history and Eastern philosophies I studied there helped me to understand this philosophy. This Eastern esteem for the landscape is predicated on more than an appreciation or respect for nature; it is also a recognition of the place of humanity within the natural world. I think many of us have gravitated to the Southwest because of this recognition. The vast expanses of the area gives you permission to escape the hustle and bustle of the modern world and helps you contemplate nature, the countryside, mountains, or desert and the ever-present pervasive spirit of the universe. This approach to painting the landscape, Shanshui, has its own life force and is not an illustration, that is line for line, form for form; rather, the real essence of the landscape is captured in a style of reverence.

refer to these paintings as abstracted landscapes because I most often use only my imagination to create a scene that I have seen in the past. These memories are a combinations of landscapes where I let the forms guide me as I paint. I am not interested in painting photographic details, but what is more important to me is the expression of the marks that make up a composition where the details are left to ones imagination. Atmospheric light, color and form are of upmost importance to me. I am always exploring a sense of reality that is made from abstract marks and forms. The energy of the mark becomes an essential aspect of the work to create a beautiful flow of movement and vitality. I hope that unlike photo realism, these paintings help the viewer participation in the completion of the scene.

Gina Rossi