Gretchen Alexander
About the Artist
I paint Vermont’s landscape with vibrant colors in an energetic, impressionistic style to convey the wild splendor of the natural world. My academic background is in aquatic ecology, and while I worked as a public servant scientist in that field for over 20 years, I always maintained a creative practice on the side. In 2023 I made the bold decision to switch careers to pursue painting full time and have been working to develop my style and creative direction at a high level of dedication I couldn’t afford when working another job. I break away from traditional landscape painters in that my aim is not to celebrate a bygone era of a colonized landscape, but rather to showcase the resilience of the natural world to overcome human manipulation. In my practice I explore ideas around the interconnectedness of the natural world, ecological scales of life, and the intersection of science and spirituality. My background in the sciences lays a foundation in the skillset of observation that translates seamlessly to painting and allows me a unique perspective, in terms of both technical skill and how I interpret the world around me. In my work I aim to convey a deep sense of place that transcends human timescales.