Aleta Pippin’s love of color is obvious when you view her paintings. Here she shares her feelings about color.
Dad called me the “Why girl”. At the age of two I continually asked him why? Why this? Why that? It seemed like everything I saw or felt was fair game. Dad was very patient!
As is the case with most children, I was so excited about the world, I wanted to know everything. I wanted to explore everything. I was also intrigued with what I perceived to be “the beyond”. We lived above a store in Battle Creek, Michigan when I was 3 to 4 years old. My bed was in the corner and when I sat on the bed in that corner, I could hear muted sounds, like voices, so that was my favorite place to sit and listen. As a child, I found this so intriguing – positive I was hearing other-worldly sounds. You guessed it, my bed was probably over a ventilation shaft and the voices were those from the store below. However, I prefer my child’s fantasy; it’s much more interesting.
I’ve always been one to push the envelope. In high school, I could hardly wait to get out and begin living my life. I took classes during summer school every year and toward the end of the first semester of my senior year, I went to the office and asked how many credits I had and how many were necessary to graduate. I had enough credits and told the counselor that I wouldn’t be returning for the last semester. Then I went home and told my parents I was finished. Dad said, “get a job.” I realize my parents’ approach isn’t acceptable today, but in the 60’s things were different or my parents were…not sure which. I just knew that I wanted change.
Since the death of my husband in 2017, I’ve been in another phase of self-exploration and expansion. I have been blessed with a full and exciting life and could continue happily in Santa Fe. However, Austin is calling and I realize it’s time for me to push the envelope again. To that end, I’ve rented an apartment and once there will locate studio space and continue producing passionately energetic, colorful abstract paintings. Of course, I’ll keep my home in beautiful Santa Fe and continue to enjoy its amazing weather and culturally rich environment.
I’m so excited about this new adventure and will keep you posted.
New Work from Aleta’s Personal Collection
Passion by Aleta Pippin, oil on canvas, 40″ x 40″, Collection of the Artist
Not Finished Until I’m Done by Aleta Pippin, acrylic on 2 panels, 3″ x 54″ x 2″ and acrylic on yupo paper affixed to 3 panels, 4″ x 60″ x 2″ – Collection of the Artist
New Work – Available
Momentum by Aleta Pippin, acrylic on panel, 44″ x 44″ x 2″
This is my first video for the year created by Kyle Maier, Kamio Media. We spent several days conversing about various aspects of painting as it relates to my life journey. He condensed numerous hours of conversation down to a few minutes. What a talent! I also want to acknowledge Gregory Webb who wrote the soundtrack.
Enjoy the video.
Last October, I made an important decision to change my life drastically. I decided to close Pippin Contemporary and have more time to focus on my artwork and pursue other opportunities.
I admit it – I’ve been a control freak many years of my life. I wanted so much for everything to run smoothly, for my children to do as I requested, for my husband’s business to do well (aside, he was in the oil and gas exploration business drilling wells for limited partnerships in the late 70s early 80s – disaster) and that the business I started in Houston would be successful (opened in 1984, sold in 2008). Being tightly wound, I achieved a lot, but I was taking steps that didn’t necessarily give me joy.
Aleta Pippin’s solo exhibition, “Landscapes of the Mind” opens on Friday, July 5th with a new body of work that represents subconscious emotion in response to nature and physical environments. For Pippin, it’s the clear light, deep blue skies, long views and majestic mountains of the desert – from her childhood memories in Southern California to her adult life in Santa Fe – that stir her passion, influence her emotions and fuel her paintings.
In her latest work, Aleta Pippin describes the landscapes of her life with warm color, rugged texture and abstract mark making – an artist’s emotional impression of breath-taking sunsets, impressive mountains and desert flora. In addition to outward environments, Aleta Pippin’s exhibition paintings also symbolize internal landscapes as bursts of movement and variations of color relate to personal growth, influential relationships or followed dreams. In this way, Aleta Pippin aims to connect with the viewer on an emotional level while reflecting on her own journey.
“The title of my exhibition is a metaphor for each of our life journeys, decisions made, dreams won and lost, love, health, joy – life. As such, the paintings will no doubt be interpreted by each viewer’s perception, choices, decisions, and overview of their own life.”
Below, Aleta Pippin provides insights behind her new paintings for “Landscapes of the Mind” in how they relate to the energy, color and emotional impact of nature.
Through The Portal, oil on panel, 60″ x 24″
“The colors in this painting can be found in the rich blue of desert skies, rose and pinks of sunsets and blooming cacti, yellow represents the vibrant warm sun that heats the environment. One can imagine diving through the portal (light pink moving into the yellow almost in the middle of the painting) and swimming around in the rich color, enjoying the texture, searching behind the forms, so much to observe in this painting.”
Intertwined, oil on panel, 48″ x 48″
“This painting moves away from my very abstracted work by giving you well-defined forms resembling flowers. I kept the major portion of the pallet in purples and grays purposely to draw your attention to the light magenta emanating from behind the flowers, with an alizarin yellow, and teal and red pops of color.”
Movement in Color, oil on canvas, 36″ x 60″
“To me, this painting is purely abstract – it’s all about color and energy. I blossom in a more arid climate and this painting represents that energy. The colors are the rich hues of the desert and the movement of strong wind whipping bushes and palm fronds about.”
Click here to view more paintings by Aleta Pippin
Click here to read Landscapes of the Mind press release
Aleta Pippin is constantly evolving her creative practice. Over the course of her career the Santa Fe artist has poured, brushed and scraped; she’s worked with oil, acrylic and mixed media as well as canvas, aluminum and panel surfaces. Pippin is even known to incorporate digital and new media components into her paintings. “I continue to experiment which is key for my creative muse,” she says. “New ideas are continually born, some finding their way into new work.” Unchanging in Pippin’s process, however, is her commitment to color and the emotional effect it can have on the human psyche. “Color is my driving force,” she states.
Dreamland III by Aleta Pippin
While impressions from Pippin’s early life would become a key inspiration for her artistic career, she didn’t begin painting until 1992 upon moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Influenced by Santa Fe’s creative culture, she began taking classes and experimenting with various media and painting styles until honing in on acrylic and oils. In 2003 Pippin fully committed herself to her art, which she considered to be her third career after building a business and raising a family. “My passion for painting became realized when it bloomed into a full-time career,” Pippin explains. “I improved my technique and found my voice – becoming an abstract painter.”
Trip Through the Cosmos by Aleta Pippin
Pippin’s July exhibition, “Here We Go Round in Circles,” is indicative of her commitment to creative exploration as well as her early and ongoing passion for painting in oils – the medium she always returns to even when continuously exploring other avenues. Her love of color, as always, is consistent throughout the exhibition. Her spontaneous nature and personal life impressions also remain constant across this body of work. “I do not plan the images,” she explains. “They are intuitive interactions created by life experience, accessing my broader knowledge. The impressions of my childhood environment express themselves in my paintings. They show up as color, freedom and energetic movement.”
Aglow I by Aleta Pippin
Pippin’s return to oil – her original inspiration for pursuing a career as an artist – is represented in pieces like “Joy Spreads,” “Carried by the Wind” and “Summertime, Sunrise.” Circular paintings such as “Trip Through the Cosmos” illustrate Pippin’s current explorations painting in the round. For these pieces, Pippin uses a variety of tools including her hands or a spinner to move paint across the panel. The panels are painted with colored resin, which incorporates acrylic or oil paint, and are often embellished with copper leaf or gold leaf details. “Resin is an interesting medium,” says the artist and gallery owner. “It accentuates the surface yet is a visual block to the viewer. In a way it says come closer, but not too close.”
Here We Go Round in Circles I by Aleta Pippin
Other mixed media pieces in the show are created using this process including “Fracture II” and “Through the Portal.” Here We Go Round in Circles opens with an artist reception on Friday, July 6th from 5-7pm. Click here to preview Pippin’s work in the online exhibition catalog.
Artists Aleta Pippin, Jami Tobey, Jeffrey Beauchamp and Gina Rossi will present contemporary visions of the landscape in their upcoming group exhibition, Inspired Views, opening Friday, September 8th, 5-7pm. The artists offer modern interpretations of typically traditional subject matter through their own distinct styles, which are guided by an emotional, visceral response to nature. This week, we’re highlighting the work of Aleta Pippin and Jami Tobey, two painters whose work is fueled by the versatility of their materials, the emotional resonance of color, and their dramatic desert surroundings.
Aleta Pippin fully abandons the classical techniques of landscape painting in favor of abstraction. Pippin’s current environment in Santa Fe as well as memories of her childhood in southern California has instilled in her an awe-inspiring view of the desert. The artist recalls the desert’s ever-changing light as she explored the San Jacinto foothills as a young girl, with rose-colored skies descending over craggy mountain ranges. Light and color are Pippin’s driving sources of inspiration; these elements along with a fluid and intuitive painting process allow Pippin to reveal her personal relationship with the landscape, which is one of freedom and adventure.
The Journey is a 54×18” atmospheric oil painting that Pippin has created for Inspired Views. Pippin says of this painting: “I like the color and light in this piece. When I was a child the idea of climbing the first hill to see what’s there was an inspiration for hiking. This painting feels like if you climb the foothills and continue on, you’ll eventually reach the furthest pinnacle. It’s also a metaphor for life’s adventures and challenges as we (hopefully) become wiser as a result of those opportunities.”
The same environments that permeate Pippin’s canvases also come through in Tobey’s work. The stylized landscape painter grew up in Santa Fe and currently lives in southern California, where broad skies and billowing clouds dominate the artist’s views and compositions. Color also plays an important role as “it sets the tone and decides the atmosphere” of each piece. Mountains and mesas adorned with metallic ink are blanketed with a celestial glow as clouds swirl through vivid hues above, guiding our attention skyward.
“Sonic Desert” is a new mixed media piece in the show that pays homage to New Mexico and its spectacular skies. Tobey says of this painting: “Sonic Desert has an element of collage, which I’m really interested in right now. I love paper and its versatility, especially how it can add to the story of the painting. I love the crispness of the story of this painting, with the big New Mexico skies and rolling landscapes. I come from the perspective that the real landscape is in skies, and I like bringing that feature into my work.”
View the Inspired Views group exhibition catalog here and be sure to browse more new paintings by Aleta Pippin and Jami Tobey on our website.
This weekend is the Canyon Road Paint & Sculpt Out, a lively event where artists demonstrate their creative process along historic Canyon Road. Artists bring paint, clay, fire, glass, easels and more to this event, and give visitors an interactive art experience as they involve onlookers with their process. Autumn is a beautiful time of year in Santa Fe with sunny blue skies and crisp mountain air, providing a brilliant backdrop for the event.
Alongside the visual artists, music students from Santa Fe public schools will perform from 1-3pm, and a parade of all 500 performers will take place at noon. Choirs, string ensembles, bands and more will participate in what is a highly anticipated event for the students.
This year at Pippin Contemporary, Cody Hooper, Gina Rossi, and Rebecca Haines will participate in the Paint & Sculpt Out. Watch Cody’s light-infused abstracts take form through his layering and blending process; see Gina’s cloud and mountainscapes evoke the magic of a Santa Fe sunset; and witness the soft personalities of wild animals come to life in Rebecca’s contemporary wildlife paintings.
Join us on Friday evening 5-7pm to kick off the weekend with Aleta Pippin’s exhibition, For the Love of Color. The vibration of color in Aleta’s new work will energize your evening and lift your spirits as you experience the freedom and passion imbued in each piece.
This October, an explosion of color will enliven the gallery with Aleta Pippin’s exhibition For the Love of Color. The show will run from October 12th through October 26th, with an opening reception on Friday, October 14th, kicking off the weekend of the Canyon Road Paint & Sculpt Out.
For this exhibition, Pippin is exploring new imagery within abstraction using both acrylics and oils. Vivid color continues to be central to her artistic expression with painting palettes that vary from soft mingling hues to strong contrasting colors. Swirling movement and flames of soft color rise up the canvas in Radiance, a 60×36” oil painting, while energizing motion and layers of striking hues vibrate against each other in Color Burst, a 36×36” oil on canvas.
Pippin’s intuitive painting style allows her to freely express her personal visions through abstract art. “My goal with every painting is to impart an internal expression that flows freely through me,” says Pippin. “It’s basically a narrative inspired by the paint.”
Color Burst by Aleta Pippin
Pippin is also revisiting pouring the paint, a technique she explored many years ago in her career. Feeling drawn to the free flowing movement of the paint and the ambiguity of the outcome, Pippin is now approaching the process with a broader skill set and renewed vision. New poured pieces will be on display for the exhibition including Magenta Pour, 48 x 48”, oil. Pippin says of this piece:
“In 2003 through 2005 I used the process of pouring the color. I liked the large splashes and serendipitous events occurring through the use of this process. All of those paintings were done using acrylics; I’d never tried it with oils. So in revisiting the technique, I decided to do some of the paintings using oils. I loved what happened. The color melded together differently than acrylics. I plan on continuing to fine-tune this process.”
Magenta Pour by Aleta Pippin
Read Aleta Pippin: For the Love of Color full press release and browse the exhibition catalog. You can also view new inventory on Pippin’s artist page. We look forward to seeing you at the opening reception on October 14th, 5-7pm.