Learning landscapes
Samantha Fisher paints sweeping views and nostalgic memories By MATT CARSTENS staff writer
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f Samantha Fisher were to put together a quintessential collection of her artwork, it might include a diaristic style of pop art, drawing inspiration from her younger years. But ever since she returned to Ellensburg from a year in Ohio, she’s been known for something a little different. Missing the open skies and sweeping views of the Kittitas Valley, Fisher started painting landscapes, and soon after she started getting more and more requests for similar work. Her friend still has one of her earlier renditions. “It was like half of a loosey-goosey landscape,” Fisher said. “I did more landscapes than I thought, ‘Landscapes? That’s so traditional,’ but then when we moved back I was like, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna do some landscapes.’” That led to more and more commissions, and living in the Kittitas Valley, there’s plenty of inspiration all around. Fisher often takes photographs while out and about and brings them back to her studio in Ellensburg. “I just have bunch of landscapes in my head from photos I’ve taken,” she said. “I kind of want to be a little looser... as opposed to tight and detailed. I like playing with the paint and keeping it loose and expressive. I like the idea of someone saying, ‘Is that done?’ Like you’re listening to a song that’s not so put together.”
See Fisher, Page 16 The heART of Kittitas County
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