Brooke Borcherding – Q2 Art Competition – Artist Portfolio Magazine

• Artist Portfolio Magazine – Q2 Art Competition
• Brooke Borcherding – Seattle, WA
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I am a 29 year old landscape artist living and working in Seattle, WA whose practice consists of focusing on painting from life and transforming studies into larger studio pieces in a style I call my “deconstructions”.
Originating from Southern California and now the Pacific Northwest, I have always been inherently drawn to the things that surround me where I live. I took my easel outdoors for the first time in 2009, observing and learning from both nature and my plein air painting peers while earning a BFA from the University of Oregon in 2010.
While being largely self taught in landscape painting, I deviated from the academic/theoretical art in order to fulfill my need to express what is real, what is everyday and embrace the often overlooked beauty that is right in front of us. I have been experimenting with a style of paint application to capture both the picturesque and urban landscapes.
Recently this has turned into a focus on deconstructing images in an abstract manner to create an aesthetically new and interesting experience for the viewer to enjoy perceiving these spaces. My traditional plein air approach to painting helps give me a foundation to base these blocky versions on, providing me with color and composition. I then work to build a painting by putting together bits and pieces, finding order in the chaos to re-form what we can identify as a place. My goal is to create an engaging visual scene that takes you deep into space and dances between the real and the inevitable unreal of paint on a canvas.
I believe that beauty is something that we shouldn’t neglect in our Postmodern time, which is why I have chosen to stay within the traditional realm of painting; it will never lose its ability to imitate, satisfy, and illuminate for both the viewer and creator.

Education
2010 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting, University of Oregon

Awards
2017 3rd Place, Ocean Shores Art Festival, Ocean Shores, WA
2016 Best Plein Air, Plein Air and More, Cannon Beach, OR
2015 Honorable Mention, Miniatures, Kenmore Art Show (Juried by Irina Kirienko Milton)
2014 Award of Merit, Issaquah First Annual Plein Air Paintout, WA
2014 Yamhill Lavender Festival Honorable Mention, (Juried by Ramona Youngquist), Oregon
2013 Beauty of the Northwest Honorable Mention, Gallery North, Edmonds
2012 City Scene Honorable Mention, Hillsboro Plein Air Paintout, Walters Cultural Arts Center, Hillsboro, OR (Juried by Eric Jacobson)
2012 Juror’s Award of Distinction, Umpqua Plein Air Paintout, Umpqua Valley Arts Association, Roseburg, OR (Juried by Thomas Kitts)
2011 Honorable Mention, SCAL 81st Annual Exhibition, Contemporary Landscape Painters of California, (Juried by Scott A. Shields)
2011 Juror’s Choice Award (George Billis), National Juried Exhibition, Academy of Fine Arts, Lynchburg, VA
2010 Juror’s Choice Award (Christine L. Sundt), Mayor’s Art Show, Jacob’s Gallery, Eugene, OR
2009 Best in Show, Pacific Northwest Art Annual (juried by founder Adell McMillan, Kelly Rauer of Portland Art Center), University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

Gallery Representation

Jan 2016-Present American Art Company, 1126 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402
Jan 2016-Present White Bird Gallery, 251 N Hemlock St, Cannon Beach, OR
May 2014- Present Scott Milo Gallery, 420 Commercial Ave, Anacortes, WA
Oct 2014-Present Jessup Cellars Gallery, 6740 Washington Street,Yountville, CA
Jan 2016-Present River Gallery, 19313 Landing Road, Mount Vernon, WA
Jan 2016-Present Tsuga Fine Art, 10101 Main St, Bothell, WA 98011
Aug 2015-Present Casco Bay Artisans, 68 Commercial st. Portland, ME