Arleen Joseph lives and paints in New York City and she spends her summers in the hills of central Mexico’s San Miguel de Allende.
“My process is one of surrender to the descent and rebirth that occurs within each painting. While building upon layers of paint and history the work becomes a journey of the unknown. I become increasingly comfortable with that uncertainty and of my journey through the dialogue with the paint and canvas."
– Arleen Joseph
TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEY SERIES
“This series speaks to my relationship to my travels around the world. Although its roots are found in landscape, the work is a preamble to the depiction of an abstracted landscape. It is an essence and sentiment prior to a passage."
Monet Moments | 24 x 24” | Oil, Gold, Cold Wax on Canvas
Private Collection
Meditation | 48 x 48” | Oil, Copper & Cold Wax on Canvas
A Moment of Eternity | 48 x 48” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas
Early Light | 40 x 30” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas
Aurora | 30 x 30” | Oil on Canvas Private Collection
Timeless Moments | 48 x 48” | Oil & Gold Private Collection
Landscapes
“I start with a blank canvas and let the painting tell me where to go.
It is through the process of creation that I connect these paintings to places that I know."
Enduring Time | 19.5 x 25.5” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas
Cool Serenity | 20 x 24” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas
Trusting the Light | 36 x 48” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas
See Awakening | 36 x 36” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas Private Collection
Eternity | 48 x 48” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas
Earthly Paradise | 36 x 48” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas
Byzantium Series
The Byzantine series explores the richness of gold in this period of history.
The use of gold presents an exciting physicality of layering.
It creates a luscious dialogue between the paint and the canvas."
Moments of Enchantment | 24 x 16” | Oil & Gold on Canvas Private Collection
Inca Gold | 30 x 30” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas
Silent Mystery | 36 x 36” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas Private Collection
Sea Jewels Harmony | 16 x 20” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas
Secret Cove | 24 x 24” | Oil & Gold on Canvas Private Collection
Unending Time | 36 x 36” | Oil, Gold & Cold Wax on Canvas
Works on Paper
Possibilities | 12 x 12” | Oil Stick & Gold on Paper Private Collection
Enchantment | 12 x 12” | Oil Stick & Gold on Paper
Sanctuary | 12 x 12” | Oil Stick, Gold & Sand on Paper
Getting Throughout | 9 x 12” | Oil Stick on Paper
Forever There | 9 x 12” | Oil Stick on Paper Private Collection
On The Path | 13.5 x 16” | Oil Stick, Gold & Cold Wax on Paper
Artist Statement
Evoking a sense of place, a heightened sense of atmosphere and cultural influences my paintings are an allusion to landscape, a suggestion of place based on color and sensory details. I am influenced not only by the natural world of each place I venture, but especially by the material culture; fabrics, designs that are ubiquitous to each place. I employ broad gestural brushstrokes as I layer the many colors of paint as a response to the rich, vibrant colors found in each culture.
Working intuitively allows me to discover and explore the canvas as I have discovered each new place. Like travel, it is a physical process. I rotate the canvas until a cohesive composition is found. Using oil paint, cold wax, gold metallic paint and glaze, I am continually adding texture to develop the pictorial space as I work the painting deeper on to the canvas creating a multi-layered composition of light, balance and harmony.
I am deliberate in my choice of colors, from the gold Buddhas of Thailand, to the gold ground of Byzantine France to the simmering reds of the Renaissance all my color choices reflect my global journeys and my desire to recreate the sensations visually.
Thank you for your interest in my work. I hope that you enjoy exploring my world.
Arleen