ANNE APPLEBY Stream Mint, 2013 Oil and wax on panel 32 x 32 inches More information at eliridgway.com/anne-appleby The experience of being in nature versus the experience of looking at a photograph of that same landscape is perhaps the best way to understand the difference between looking at a painting by Anne Appleby versus a reproduction of that same painting. What might first appear as monochromatic panels, are surfaces rich in subtle nuances of color, density, depth, and texture. Combining oil and wax, the paintings consist of thirty or more luminous layers built up through patient application of varied translucent tones, enlivened in the same rich ways that reward close inspection of nature. The central reference in Anne Appleby’s work is derived from her relationship to the trees, plants, wildflowers, and grasses of Montana and the American West and seasonal changes associated with the natural world. She carefully observes specific plants or seasons and uses their colors as they grow and change in works that are particular to them. “My paintings aren’t about the other world. They’re about our place in this world. What nourishes the soul is the experience of being in the body.” What she paints is glowing fields of color that seem as alive as the plants referenced in her titles.