Abend Gallery | 5/20-6/27 | Denver, CO

Intertwined

Lindsey Kustusch explores nature and philosophy in a new show at Abend Gallery

Lindsey Kustusch has been known for her dramatic cityscapes of the city she loves, San Francisco. She describes herself as a “painter of urban life and the animals that live among us.”

She worked with a humane society in Hawaii and, after moving to San Francisco, she worked at an animal shelter. As she painted cityscapes, she thought about painting the cats and dogs in the shelter and began creating animal portraits. “Life is short,” she says. “You have to do what you love. I embrace what is meaningful to me.”The Vibrant Sulphur Butterfly, oil on panel, 12 x 12"

Animals are the focus of an exhibition of her recent work to be shown at Abend Gallery in Denver, Colorado, May 20 through June 27. “The exhibition is not only mostly centered around animals,” she explains, “but the paintings have been planned to be ‘all uplifting!’ I really just wanted this show to be bursting at the seams with appreciation for the natural world.”Apricity, oil on panel, 49 x 20"On the wall of her studio are framed butterfly specimens, and her files contain folders of images from animals to art deco and art nouveau designs that she has been gathering over the years. She combines elements of her compositions on her computer, and when she is satisfied, she applies a grid over the image. She paints a grid on her canvas and begins painting freehand.The Brood, oil on panel, 16 x 32"The paint is applied in layers, built up, wiped down, scraped and smudged to create a lively surface. She says, “I like the look of the hand of the artist in a painting and the look of paint added and paint taken off. It makes areas more mysterious.”

Her butterfly paintings often come to life during breaks between working on larger work. The Vibrant Sulphur Butterfly is almost an essay on her technique and her philosophy. When building her larger paintings, she often lets the paint dry between layers. In the butterfly paintings, she paints alla prima, wet on wet. “I let things happen,” she explains. “In my head, all things in nature are intertwined with each other. Everything is one circle of life. Painting the butterflies abstractly gives the illusion of reality, how we see in real life. Everything isn’t in focus...By experimenting with abstraction and various kinds of mark making, and by using layers to mimic atmosphere, the end result feels more real.”Féath, oil on panel, 49 x 20"In her heron paintings, such as Féath (the “the state of being calm and peaceful, without worry” in Gaelic) she combines elements that inspire her from the art nouveau flowers to living plants and, ultimately, the animal she loves. —