ARTIST'S STATEMENT

     In the beginning, the canvas is washed in hues chosen for a ground that will give energy to the painting. Often, I will layer the washes with different colors, suspending bits of pure pigment and letting it drizzle for a rich, grainy effect. The purpose of this careful preparation is to leave tiny sections of this delicious ground to speak for itself throughout the painting. When I am satisfied with the wash, I will do a slight sketch, and then, perhaps, select a palette knife to slip some texture into areas where it would be effective. From there, a loose block-in is formed with shape, value, and line, with the idea of coming back with layers of paint, using palette knife and brush. Sometimes, washes and glazes are used to create an effect or mood. Always there is a reverence for truth that the subject chosen has inspired. Each painting is a separate journey, a different story; thus, the process will change to facilitate the unique unfolding that inspires each work.

BIOGRAPHY

     Whether it is of winter cottonwoods along a river bottom, the warm flush of an evening sun over the buttes of southern Utah, or scenes from her journeys to foreign lands — to view a Bonnie Posselli painting is to be within the moment that Bonnie experienced.
     She grew up in Salt Lake City, the eldest of six children. Family vacations included camping throughout the western states. Bonnie remembers her absorption with the beauty and wonder of nature, now reflected in her paintings. As a young adult, Bonnie was encouraged by her mother, a painter, to join with her in a plein air painting group. From there, the die was cast.
     Bonnie married and had three children, one daughter and two sons. During this period, her time was divided between parenting and intermittent coursework at the University of Utah. There she studied figure with Alvin Gittens, an indelible experience that has continued to serve her work. After her divorce, she earned a degree in illustration, but soon realized that plein air painting was her abiding love and strongest asset. Although Bonnie chose not to work in the commercial art field, that training, coupled with early outdoor painting experience, has enriched her understanding and skill.
     Her most significant influences are from early landscape painters, John F. Carlson, Edgar Payne and LeConte Stewart. Carlson (1890-1945) was a noted expert on outdoor painting from the Art Students League Summer School in Woodstock, New York. His book, Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting, has become the bible for many serious students. Carlson's philosophy is to paint nature at your own back door and not feel compelled to travel for the "picturesque." His reverence for pure, natural landscape and his love of trees has inspired Bonnie throughout her career.
     Bonnie has painted throughout South America. Over two decades, there have been nine trips, including to Brazil, Argentina, three trips to Peru, Guatemala, Chili, Easter Island, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands. Alaska opened another plein air painting and camping experience during a adventurous week-long river trip in the Tik Chik wilderness area. Recent travels to Italy, France, and London, England are inspiring many of her newer paintings.

Bonnie Posselli's quiet and meticulous rendering of trees, as well as her rich, luscious hues depicting the many moods of Utah's red rock country, have won her critical praise along with an impressive group of collectors.

Bonnie`s most recent awards:

• 2010 People's Choice Award, Maynard Dixon Country Invitational
• 2008 Purchase Award, Zion National Park "A Century of Sanctuary"
• 2008 Ward Roylance Award, Entrada Institute
• One of the 100 Best Artists of Utah, Springville Art Museum 2002 curatorial committee
• 2002 Best of Show, Maynard Dixon Invitational
• 2002 Arts for the Parks rand Canyon Purchase Award
• Dixie College Invitational Purchase Award
• Deseret News Purchase Award
• Utah Governor's Mansion Artist Award
• Invited Guest of PAPA (Plein Air Painters of America) 2002, 2003

One Person Shows:
Montgomery Lee Fine Art Gallery, Park City, Utah
Williams Fine Art, Salt Lake City, Utah
Wiford and Vogt One Person Show
Zions Banking Corporation
Torrey Gallery; Torrey Utah
Myra Powell Gallery; Invitational One Person Show, Ogden, Utah
Pan American Tours; Salt Lake City, Utah
Murdock Travel; Salt Lake City, Utah
Repartee Gallery; Park City, Utah
Art Masters Gallery; Park City, Utah
ZCMI Mercantile; Salt Lake City, Utah

Publications:
Southwest Art Magazine, January 2005 feature article "The Architecture of Emotion"
Art of the West Magazine, March/April 2002 "What's News" "Sego Gallery features Alaskan Art"
Southwest Art Magazine, February 2001 "Artist to Watch"
Salt Lake Magazine, 1990 feature article "Painting from the Land"
Southwest Art Magazine, September 1998,
          One page ad for Torrey Gallery One Person Show
Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, 1997, "The Art of Travel"

Books:
The Paintings of Bonnie Posselli, ISBN 13: 978-0-615-16413-7, Published in 2007
Enchanted Isle: A History of Plein Air Painting in Catalina Island. Published in 2003
Utah Art/Artists, 150 year survey, Springville Museum of Art, 2002 Cultural Olympiad Committee.
Utah Profile 1991, 1992: Full Page with color images and text, American Heritage Publication

A Century of Sanctuary, The Art of Zion National Park, University Press, 2008

Painters of Utah's Canyons and Deserts, Donna L. Poulton and Vern G. Swanson, Gibbs Smith Press, 2009