Artist Statement

My paintings explore landscapes that create a space to encounter the transcendent possibilities of nature. These works are an investigation into what David Hockney calls "the thrilling space," the vastness and emotional depth of the landscape. Drawing from observation, memory, and fantasy, they contemplate an ancient feeling of awe and dread in the presence of something remarkable and fragile. Everything appears slightly overgrown, with color and space twisted and flattened, evoking dreamlike, transitional realms.

Working with oil on wood panels and watercolor on paper, I use color as my emotional language, intentionally contrasting bright and drab tones to heighten the expression of atmospheres and subjective moods. Working and reworking in pencil and oil brings the spontaneity of my drawing practice to more substantial works. My approach draws inspiration from painters like Charles Burchfield, Peter Doig and Mamma Andersson, who similarly translate observed reality into emotionally charged spaces where recognition meets possibility.

Recent paintings depicting flowers, mainly from my own garden, weave together lived experience and studio practice. Against a backdrop of mounting environmental anxiety, the flower paintings capture nature in its most attenuated expression, toying in flux between splendid growth and encroaching death. Each composition offers momentary escape while acknowledging our complex relationship to nature.

Artist Bio

Cameron Goodyear creates dreamlike, vibrant paintings that transform familiar landscapes and botanical subjects into emotional encounters with the natural world. Working in oil and watercolor, her distinctive approach has earned recognition, including "Best in Show" at the 2024 Bedford Art Show and a residency at Yellow Studio. Cameron's recent exhibitions include her solo shows “Eastwoods" at Hedgerow in Pound Ridge, NY, and "Nothing But Flowers" at Bedford Playhouse. Born in Princeton, NJ, in 1974, she received a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1998. Cameron lives and works in Pound Ridge, NY, with her family and three dogs.