Statement — Patti Ettinger Fine Arts

The figure lies at the heart of all my artwork. Drawing is its foundation. Working quickly and spontaneously allows me to imbue the energy. Whenever possible I prefer the direct interaction of working from life. Previously my work focused on people in their cultural settings and animals in nature, where I feel a strong sense of connection. Animals resonate deeply and their wisdom speaks to me. Women are often a strong theme as we know how to listen and often have special relationships with creatures.

My recent work is a series called Totems, incorporating themes of the spiritual, mythological and the natural world. My process has led to an investigation of societies that incorporate totemism and animism as an essential part of their cultures. My preoccupation and artistic examination of the dichotomies and similarities of human and animal, myth and religion, life and death, have led me to this place in my journey. These ideas have evolved into work concerned with issues of climate change, extinction and aging.

Unlike my figurative work, this new path has been surprisingly organic. Pieces lie somewhere between painting and sculpture, constructing, and sometimes deconstructing, canvases of various sizes. Scale plays a significant role, some are seven feet high, as do particular animals and birds and the powers attributed to them. Objects I find on my daily walks such as feathers, seed pods and bones have been incorporated. Most recently, pieces are exploring mixed media combining drawing and collage, installation, and video.

My photography is almost a polar opposite: employing a monochromatic palette, focusing solely on landscape and veering off into abstraction. Like Monet in his garden, for the past seven years, I have been focusing on one particular place, exploring the effects of the elements: weather and light to create Zen-like meditations on the physical world, resulting in photographs that appear to be paintings.

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