Sobre el Artista

The raison d’etre for my floral and landscape paintings can be traced directly to the influences that surrounded my early childhood. Born and raised in a small town in Austria near forests, glens and mountains, I was constantly seeking out the many varied kinds of floral beauty which is ever present in this land. During the summer months, in a high mountain lake enclosure, my siblings and I would make daylong forays into the forested areas solely to see what kinds of flowers we could encounter. A difficult find, but a most sought after one, was the edelweiss. This was so because one had to climb up the side of a mountain to see them growing as an outcropping in the rocks. This would become the trophy of the day! Another favored sight was the Christrose, commonly called the Schneerose or snow rose, because it could be seen popping up out of the snow cover on the ground. In school I was always fascinated with any instrument be it pen, pencil or crayon, that could make anything from a strait line to a complicated image. I really never understood at the time why I had this strong attraction for art supplies, never could make the connection between it and my love of nature. It wasn’t until I came to the United States and married that the association was made. A casual remark by my husband, that I had a natural talent and propensity to draw and paint, made me realize that I ought to get going. A starter paint kit was purchased and that’s the beginning of the story. ARTIST'S STATEMENT I paint the change and diversity of nature, capturing the beauty that surrounds us: winter’s stark grays, the slow brightening of spring, bold summer, and fall’s warm richness. The shapes of nature show their diversity in my work, the flowing petals of flowers with the rugged geometry of my native Austrian Alps. Nature’s unending spectrum of color and shape, its seasons of hope and renewal, are always fresh and exciting, and that is what I strive to capture in my work. When I paint, I hope to bring the beauty that surrounds around into focus, and fix it on the canvas to brighten our lives. By connecting with this beauty, I partake in the almost magical act of transforming empty space, a plain white surface, into something captivating, a painting that can be shared and enjoyed for years to come. I paint in a representational and impressionistic style. I take my cue from nature, utilizing watercolors and acrylics, hoping to bring out the myriad shapes, forms and colors that the creator has bestowed upon us. If I can lend my own interpretation to it, then I am satisfied. HONORS AND AWARDS Individual Artist Award, Mayor's Arts Awards, Coronado Theater, Rockford, IL 2007 YWCA Blanche Ellis Starr Award for Leadership in the Arts, Rockford, IL 2006 Featured in The Artist's Magazine, September, 2000. Artist for the years 2001, 2002 and 2005 Easter Seals Campaigns. Finalist in the National Museum for Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., Illinois Chapter Millenium 2000 Show. EDUCATION: Rockford College, Rockford, IL (Studio Art Major) BIOGRAPHY: Born and raised in and a citizen of Austria, Ingrid is married with three children. She divides her career between the U. S. and Austria exhibiting her works and conducting painting workshops. SELECTED ONE WOMAN SHOWS Freeport Arts Center, Freeport, IL 2008 Die Wirtschaftskammer-Galerie, Vienna, Austria, 2002 Zurich-American, Schaumburg, IL, 2001 Arlington Green Executive Center, Arlington Heights, IL 2001 Zurich Insurance Company, Zurich, Switzerland, 2000 Northern Trust O'Hare, Chicago, IL 2000 NICOR Corporate Gallery, Naperville, IL, 2000 Schloss Kammer, Attersee, Upper Austria, Austria, 1996, 1999, 2005 University of Illinois at Chicago School of Medicine, 1999 'Das Ronacher', Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria, 1997 Stadtische Galerie, Linz, Austria 1995 Kaiservilla, Bad Ischl, Austria, 1994 SELECTED GROUP SHOWS Rockford Midwestern Biennial, Rockford Art Museum, 2008, 2010 Freeport Arts Center, Freeport, IL 2000, 2003, 2009, 2010 Unilever Corporate Gallery, Rolling Meadows, IL, 2000, 2002 Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL, 'Flora: The Beauty of Botanicals in Art', 2003 MEDIA Television Interviews: Artist to Artist Program, AT&T Broadband Cable Access Stations, Chicago North and West Suburbs, 2001 Insight Communications Channel 17, Rockford, IL , 1999 WPTI Channel 10, Loves Park, IL, 1983 Public Television Auctions: WHA-TV, Madison, WI, 1999, 2001, 2004 WNPE-16, Watertown, NY, 1998 PUBLICATIONS: Illustration for Sonnenkringel und Schattenstreiffen, Ilse Lassner, PS Verlag, Payerbach, Austria 1992 Illustration for the Austrian Red Cross 1996 Christmas Card.