About Angela

Born 1969. Originally an architectural drafter, now a writer, painter w/4 grown kids, nana w/2 bobtails 2 Manx, and a Cocker Spaniel/Cavalier King Charles mix pup. I took Fine Arts classes in college, then started painting in 1998. I usually use acrylic, but working in pastel as of late for the resounding bold colors and tactile nature. I prefer abstract work, but it’s more difficult than it looks, so my focus is on landscapes. In my spare time, I enjoy yoga & spirituality classes. We reside in suburban Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA, near our four grown kids, their spouses, and two grandsons whom we enjoy babysitting.

I have always been drawn to the magnificent and the mysterious—those shimmering edges where wonder and truth intermingle. It’s no surprise, then, that art became my truest devotion. Guided by an insatiable curiosity and the quiet ache to translate the unspoken, I paint not only what I see, but what I feel—visions spun from memory, dream, and imagination.

My process lives in both the abstract and the representational, not as opposites, but as twin flames fed by the same breath. Each stroke is a search, each color a whisper. Often, I begin with a clear intent—a still life frozen in time, a concept etched in thought—but somewhere along the way, especially in abstraction, the idea slips its tether. The paint takes the lead. And when I am brave enough to follow, we usually arrive together at something unexpected, something whole.

I paint with my heart steeped in nostalgia and soul tuned to the hush of history. I believe every figure, every fleeting shadow, every texture of time holds its own quiet magic. My work is a dialogue—between past and present, reality and myth, structure and spontaneity. I mix images and philosophies as one might mix pigments: intuitively, fervently, with reverence.

In creating, I feel not only joy, but a sacred kind of thankfulness—for the chance to leave behind a trace of color, hope, or wonder in the world. I know a painting is complete when it hums with life, when it mirrors back a piece of my spirit and says, “Yes, this is the truth you carried.”

When others look at my work, I hope they sense not just beauty, but a kind of resonance—a dance of emotion and color that reminds them that this world, in all its layered complexity, is still full of magic.

I find kinship with the bold explorations of Arshile Gorky and Albert Gleizes, the rhythmic futurism of Gino Severini and Umberto Boccioni, and the luminous energy of Hans Hofmann and Johannes Itten. The expressive pulse of Kandinsky, John Marin, and Willem de Kooning echoes in my own search for harmony between chaos and form.

I’m passionate about palette knife painting and impasto, using organic strokes, textures, and lively, sometimes quirky, details to create vibrant designs, all done in time to classic rock or 80’s music. Predominantly, I use acrylic or gouache to paint metaphorical pieces that attempt to touch the soul and convey a particular mood or atmosphere. I paint with spontaneous, loose, expressive brush strokes, in addition to the palette knife, using daring, vivid colors. I’ve used pastel in landscapes for the tactile quality it offers. I enjoy budget travel, which inspires me to create abstract sunsets for an overall mood of serene reverie.

Influences: Arshille Gorky, Albert Gleizes, Gino Severini, Hans Hoffman, Johannes Itten, Kandinsky, John Marin, Umberto Boccioni, Willen de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Rothko, Cezanne, and Matisse

Education
Normandale Community College, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

I’m a novelist, poet, and painter who enjoys yoga and spirituality classes. Although I’m a South Dakota native and an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, I’ve lived in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, on and off throughout my childhood. Currently, I reside in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with my family. Other hobbies include Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), camping, and budget travel, particularly to Maine, Oregon, and the coastal Carolinas.

Formally, I studied Fine Art at Normandale Community College, the University of Minnesota, and a lifetime of workshops with amazing teachers that continue to the present.

“Art is neither a profession nor a hobby. Art is a way of being.”

—Frederick Franck