I praise my children as they notice the minutiae in Nature, ‘good eyes’ I say. The skill of observation is being lost… I notice it in myself.  I think I understand a place, yet when I arrive and spend time searching for details, I am most often surprised by what I learn. The subtle detail of life and death passes and we do not notice the treasures we trample or pass by. Through close observation I search for life and meaning in my surrounding environment. Our survival on Earth depends on our willingness to know and value the yeomen of Nature who live out their lives filtering the bay, decomposing the forest, and providing oxygen and food for our nourishment. Through my work I construct larger than life views of Nature using photography and scanography. It is only through careful study that all integral parts of Nature are revealed.

My creative work is a crossing of mediums (digital photography and drawing) that explores nature with a combination of reverence and intimate expression. The images survey natural elements from many angles and distances. These depictions are enhanced and abstracted by painterly additions of color and text. The rich natural images converge with gestural strokes and emotive language that allows the viewer to engage with the greater implications of the pristine subjects. Sometimes these embellishments are delicate; sometimes they obliterate the subject into a space of wonder.

My process begins with photography and sustained observation of Nature. I collect images on long walks in natural settings. I do not set out to find specific images. With my camera in hand on a hike or walk, I make my way through Nature and as I begin to photograph the place the images reveal themselves to me.

Over time and back in my studio I review my collected images and reflect on their visual and symbolic significance to the themes of my creative work and expression. I research and identify the flora in my photographs taking extensive notes on the unique qualities of what I have photographed. Often I incorporate my naturalist’s notes in the final pieces or titles. In the studio I spend considerable time reviewing and preparing the images for printing. 

I often print smaller versions of the images for drawing studies and then full-scale versions for my larger works. I then draw, paint and write on the prints with pastel, acrylic ink or I create an encaustic painting applying wax based paints on top of the image which I have mounted on wood panel. Each work is an original work of art.

Bridget Z. Sullivan

Nature sustains infinite views of life and death. At every turn Nature is home to creatures out of human sight yet nonetheless essential to the ecological system. Far beyond our perceptions exist the yeomen of Nature, filtering the bay, decomposing the forest, and providing oxygen for us to breathe and food for our nourishment.

In the Matter of Degree body of work I search for evidence of these relationships and recount the significance of the minutiae in my mixed media digital images.

Watershed represents a collection of images filtered through my close observation and presented in a form reminiscent of a naturalist’s journal. The resulting mixed media work represents my search for meaning through the observation of life around me. I create intimate views of nature using photography and scanography, and then draw and write directly on the large digital prints with water based pastels.

The “Nature|Nurture” body of work is represented in photographic mixed media pigment prints on view in this project presentation and also in the group of encaustic paintings presented in the next project.

I praise my children as they notice the minutiae in Nature, ‘good eyes’ I say. The skill of observation is being lost… I notice it in myself.  I think I understand a place, yet when I arrive and spend time searching for details, I am most often surprised by what I learn. The subtle detail of life and death passes and we do not notice the treasures we trample or pass by. Through close observation I search for life and meaning in my surrounding environment. Our survival on Earth depends on our willingness to know and value the yeomen of Nature who live out their lives filtering the bay, decomposing the forest, and providing oxygen and food for our nourishment. Through my work I construct larger than life views of Nature using photography and scanography. It is only through careful study that all integral parts of Nature are revealed.

In the summer of 2012 I was selected to serve as the Artist in Residence at Catoctin National Park and Cunningham Falls State Park in the Catoctin Mountain area of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Maryland. My AIR National Park residency work focused on the flora and geology of the two parks. I spent my residency photographing in the parks, printing and drawing. I also presented two public interpretive demonstrations of my art making process. This body of work was featured in the solo exhibition entitled “Ransomed” installed August – September 2013 at Delaplaine Art Center in Frederick, Maryland. The Catoctin Mountains are 20 miles North of Frederick near Thurmont, Maryland.

Continuing with the investigation of Natural surroundings as refuge these works represent my interest and study of sanctuary. Images are derived from field experiences at Cylburn Arboretum (Baltimore City), Adkins Arboretum (adjacent to Tuckahoe State Park, Maryland), and Catoctin Mountain Park (North of Fredrick, Maryland).