Jacqueline McAbery

     When I was 17, I fell in love with art while visiting the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.  We had an amazing guide who inspired me with the stories that paintings create.

     Since that time my art and life journey has consisted of seeing, experiencing, and hearing stories from all kinds of art, humans, and horses.

     I found ways to tell stories with my photographs and with different art mediums of people, landscape, still life and my herd of horses.

     For my story a main influence for my art has been spending countless hours in museums where I would devour the art. While living in New York City, my favorite times were spent spending a whole day exploring The Met or Moma, going from room to room and standing entranced in front of a particular painting, studying the design, colors, and brush strokes.  These would nourish my soul.  I would make sketches and take notes. Sometimes, I would broaden my scope and see what stories the sculpture, furniture or fashion would tell. All amazing creations. Since then, I have had the opportunity to visit and study many pieces of art in the museums of California and Europe.

     One of the most enriching experiences has been painting plein air. I am not just painting outside but experiencing all the elements of nature: The sights, the smells, the sounds all surround me as I work.   This experience also encouraged me to paint more representationally.

     Aspects of nature and her story are my main source for inspiration. The heart of nature’s beauty instills in me a sense of awe, wonder and fear as I am drawn into its world of mystery, power, depth, light and dark.

     Since moving to the coast in the 2006 nature has been my main focus. In 2008 I rescued a herd of neglected horses that lived next door.  They profoundly changed my life.  They have so many ways of sharing their story, from local rumors about them, to their body language, their telepathy with each other and at times with me. They have taught me to trust my intuition and I have been carrying that over into my artwork, allowing it to lead the way.

     I studied abstract painting at the San Francisco Art Institute and received a BFA in the 80’s.  Subsequently, I worked on very large abstract paintings in my SF studio some of which won awards. Since then, I have attended many workshops in person and online.

     I love all art medium and have worked in acrylic, oil, encaustic, pastel, drawing and mixed media. This past year Acrylic and mixed media have been fun to use for exploration. I enjoy the speed and versatility and playfulness of these two mediums. However, I miss the richness and luminosity I can get with oils, so I am back to working with this medium as well.