Statement

Places have a memory, a history, a feeling that we connect with. These memories, like faint echoes, are revealed as light moves across the landscape, transforming the color and texture of a place. It is these moments and experiences that I capture in my atmospheric landscape paintings. 

My fascination with the landscape stems more from an interest in exploring our primal connection to the land rather than a focus purely on the aesthetics of a place. My paintings trace the effect light has on a location, how it leaves its mark on the landscape, how it illuminates the essence of nature–creating different moods, transforming a scene, drawing us in, focusing our gaze, changing the temperature physically and emotionally, and capturing movement. Combined, these elements relay the feeling and memories of a place. My paintings are a snapshot of a particular moment in time. Recording these moments is an act of resistance documenting places that are threatened by increased urbanization and catastrophic climate change. They are a call to preserve these places and a reminder of the important symbiotic relationship that we have with nature. 

Travel is an integral part of my process. Participating in artist residencies around the world (Japan, India, Finland, and Iceland) allows me to explore different landscapes and record the dramatic shifts in light and color in various geographic locations. During long walks, I immerse myself in the feel and texture of a place recording my observations in photographs and small studies. These studies become the basis for my series.  

Using oil paint on canvas, paper, or wood panel, I begin with loose under-paintings of bright pink or yellow that will peak through the final layers. Successive layers of color build to create ethereal luminescent compositions that reveal the emotional feel of a place. Light is the focus of my compositions, the real subject of my work. 

Ultimately my work is about chronicling timeless moments in nature where we feel a sense of serenity and a connection to the land. This is the gift I want to share with you.

Biography

Victoria Veedell captures the essence of nature by examining the effects of light on form in the natural world. Known for her unique approach to the landscape that focuses on relaying the emotional memory of a place, the fleeting moments in time, Veedell’s paintings have been exhibited nationally and internationally and appear in numerous private and corporate collections. Throughout her prolific career spanning over 20 years, landscapes remain the focus of her work. 

Participating in artist residencies is an integral part of her art practice. Exploring different landscapes allows her to capture the dramatic shifts in light and color in various regions and hemispheres in the world. Her paintings not only record the fleeting moments of light in these diverse locations but are records of landscapes that are being permanently transformed by climate change. Her travels brought her to Japan, Iceland, India, Finland, Vermont, and California.

After receiving a BFA in painting from Texas A & M Corpus Christi, Veedell attended L’Ecole Albert Defois, Association D’Ateliers D’Art Internationaux, Les Cerquex, France and then studied painting at the graduate level at NYU. She worked for over six years in galleries in New York City before moving to Tokyo. Veedell spent two years exploring Japan and other parts of Asia before settling in San Francisco in 2003. A Houston native, she now resides in San Francisco. 

Her paintings are available at Aerena Galleries, Healdsburg, St. Helena and Napa, CA; Eminent Design, Rancho Mirage, CA, Avenue 12 Gallery, San Francisco, CA.