Holly Beals

Mixed Media Painter - Arroyo Grande, CA

Artist’s Statement

Whether someone is caught up in a moment of quiet reflection or making connections through everyday, human interactions, I’m fascinated by the unspoken things people say. Body language, the way light reflects off a person or natural landscape…these are the continual curiosities I’m most interested in exploring in the studio.

Even as a child, my preference was (and still is) to observe, watch and listen. People watching, noticing, taking inspiration from the simple stuff right in front of me; all of that helps inform my art making practice. And my deeply held conviction that each person is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), keeps me wanting to observe and record all that I can, especially as it relates to the human experience.

To say more with fewer and broader strokes, is something I keep experimenting with. It’s amazing how much of a person’s essence can be captured, even without specific facial features. So, I’m continually playing with ways to obscure facial features, while focusing on the more relatable aspects of the figure or human connections.