Portia Mortensens’s works on paper from 2015-2017 are notations on the landscape that inspires her. The collection, called I Can Hear the Earth Breathe, consists of 30 works in acrylic and cold wax.
I recently acquired these works and all are available to purchase. Please follow the links to my website to learn more about Portia and her life’s work. Feel free to inquire with me directly about any of the paintings.
Artist’s Statement
I would describe my paintings as ”notations of balance.” This series of paintings is inspired by 3 major influences: the canopy of color suspended through the change of season in my adopted home of Pennsylvania; my relationship to the horses I train and learn from everyday; and the concept of visual pattern that is found in the written language. These influences all converge to determine the feel, movement and content of each piece.
Moving from Zimbabwe, Africa to the east Coast has opened me up to the generosity of color offered by the seasons. This ever-changing suspension of color influences my painting at its core level.
My other passion in life, dressage, is about balance, cadence, tempo, and rhythm. All of these elements are central themes of my work. In riding and in painting, the artist has to work through a set tonal structure and trust her instincts to find her way out of a maze of infinite possibilities. A painting is a living thing, and like a horse it must be listened to. I often consider a painting finished when I can hear it.
The visual pattern found in written language is a concept I am intrigued with. Be it calligraphy, sheet music, a page of Braille or something as simple as a shopping list. In an abstract sense there is an ebb and flow of characters on the page, a balance and rhythm between positive and negative shapes. In a parallel yet more literal sense “reading between the lines” there is often more importance in what is left unsaid. And so I ask the viewer to really look, what is the subject matter, the rocks, circles, or squares; or the foreground? The illusion of space or dimensionality? The putting on, or taking off of paint? That which is erased, or that which is evident?”
