Etsy Fine Art Gallery

Art by Guenevere Van Der Aa Keeffe
I tend to work in charcoal and acrylic though I have played with watercolor and oil. I try to convey emotions and movement in my works and I love texture. Every now and then my paintbrushes just don't make the cut to achieve the texture I'm looking for and I am known to get my fingers dirty instead. I try to play well with others but sometimes my sarcasm makes that difficult. So I prefer the solitude of art, paint can be disagreeable but it's always pliable.

I'm a contemporary artist who has been creating a diverse collection of oil, watercolour, pastel and mixed media paintings for over 20 years.
The textures in nature are varied and abundant, whether it is the softness of a single flower, the forest floor or more majestic views. By experimenting with techniques to create texture in my paintings, I intensify my work and challenge the viewer to look closer to the subtle details.
The textures in man made objects are just as evident throughout time. They represent fragments of lifetimes and traditions that are universal. Masks, pottery and jewellery have been created by artists in virtually all cultures since the Stone Age. I use these objects in my paintings and try to capture the texture inherent in the materials used.

I tend to like very textural art and no matter how I try, things usually end up in layers. Mixed media is very natural to me. The first color to run out in my paint box is yellow, my neutral. I am trying to work my way around the spectrum, however. My work is far from realistic, though I use imagery. There is always a private story behind each of my pieces. Other loves: My fine family; my feisty felines and Photoshop!

Every piece of art I create, regardless of the medium in which I'm working, represents a special, slightly weird world, inhabited by hybrid human/animal creatures that are generally having a good time. That's the place that my imagination inhabits, and it's the source of all my inspiration.
Some of my creatures show up in large canvases. Others appear in small mixed-media pieces.
Along with the fun, I consider doing art to be an important social activity. We test the quality of our own social reality against the better worlds we're capable of imagining. Even these crazy little animal-people can help us learn how to live more happily, more humanely, and more wisely.

Being of a restless, creative nature, I generally have multiple projects going at once. I bounce between media, and I love to experiment.
My background in computer design has led me to incorporate digital images into my work. I strive to push that medium to its very limits by using a variety of transfer processes.
I also enjoy working in three dimensions, using such found objects as old clock cases, broken ceramics, and Victorian hardware.
My work often tells a story, since I'm fascinated by human nature and by what history has to teach us. Old photographs, old letters, and other memorabilia are major sources of inspiration.
I'm always looking for new ideas, new construction techniques, and new projects to get excited about. Anything that involves experimentation, anything complicated, and finally just the act of creation itself--that's what I love.