Brad Aldridge

Artist Statement

     "In these turbulent times, one of the few certainties of life is the beauty that surrounds us. It comforts, reassures, and beckons us forward. Beautiful and poetic landscape is constantly relevant and timeless. Landscape is the outward form or vehicle I've always chosen to convey my personal vision, but in my strongest works, the vision, and not the vehicle, is the true underlying subject.

      Elements of my personal iconography include visual journeys from a shadowed and uncertain foreground to an illuminated hopeful horizon, occasionally overseen by a lofty cloud or moon. Cool streams meander past wooded and tangled shores. Farmland is bathed in the last light of day. I hope these journeys are viewed as serious, but joyful, and hopeful reflections on the common human experience.

     I believe for art to be a meaningful form of communication, it must be heartfelt and authentic. Great art must be an accurate reflection of the artist's view of the world. The world in which I find myself has elements of danger and longing to be sure, but I see my work as a reflection of my optimistic view that ultimately hope and beauty are always triumphant in the end."

Education

   Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bringham Young University, Utah

   Professional Printer Training Certification, Tamarind           Institue of Lithography, Albuquerque, New Mexico               University of New Mexico

   Master of Fine Arts, University of Arkansas

"On a High Bank"

oil on panel

28" x 30"

"Profile September"

24" x 26"

oil on panel *SOLD*

"River Road in France"

26" x 38"

oil on panel

"Summer Dawn"

42" x 72"

oil on panel