States of Grace & The Patina Collection

I’m driven by a search for grace and the elusive glow of flow of the creative process; when the awareness of time and space disappear, the senses align, and my eyes and essence are engaged.

- Wendi Schneider

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It’s an obsession – calming and centering, exciting and enchanting. I crave the concentration and connection that comes with looking intensely for the essence of a subject and photograph intuitively to capture what I feel, as much as what I see. I purchased a camera in the early 1980s to reference models for my oil paintings. Mesmerized by the possibilities of the photographic art form and the alchemy of the darkroom, yet missing the sensuousness of oils, I began to layer oils on my photographs. This process laid the groundwork for the layering and gilding that would become the foundation of the ‘States of Grace’ series, begun in 2012.

- Wendi Schneider

States of Grace Wendi Schneider

My work illuminates transformative moments of spiritual connection to nature, guided by the serenity I find in the stillness of suspended light on the sinuous elegance of organic forms. I’m compelled to preserve the visual poetry of these fleeting moments of vanishing beauty in our vulnerable environment to make the intangible tangible and celebrate the ephemeral.