Irene Yesley

artist

I grew up in Spokane, Washington, attending universities in Washington, Arizona, and Massachusetts.  I earned  a Masters of Fine Arts in Printmaking from ASU.

Since my degree in printmaking, I worked as a fiber artist on a 6 foot loom, then switched to paper and plexiglass using acrylic paint, ink and pastels.

I have lived on both the east coast, (Boston, Washington, DC) and west coast (Los Angeles, Seattle, Sacramento and Santa Fe, NM),  and abroad in Kas, Turkey. All these different places have influenced the colors and the content of my work.   

For me, making art is a kind of meditation, it requires all my attention which effectively shuts out the chaos of everyday life.  I especially realize the importance of working in my studio when I am not working in my studio

My work does not resemble the world around me.  The things that concern me are the values, the shapes, spaces between them, and the colors.   I work abstractly because it gives me more options.  I especially like repeating patterns.   

I paint on plexiglass because of the transparency which allows me to work on two or three layers and then stack one over the other to make a single art piece.  

Working on plexiglass has its share of challenges. It is called reverse painting; you work on the back side of the plexiglass and look at the piece from the front side. The first mark put down is what shows, any additional layers of paint or ink on top of that first mark will not change what is visible from the front side.  This also means it is a good idea to have a plan before starting.   

You can see more of Irene’s art on her website.