ART Texture and Depth with Alli Wotring

For Alli Wotring, an abstract artist, art and design go hand-in-hand.

“I love the creative process and the challenge of working through ideas to come to a final piece. I also enjoy working directly with clients to create custom work that specifically suits their design needs,” she said. “When you are creating a piece of art for someone to have in their home you want them to enjoy it every single day. Sometimes an interior space or color scheme can inspire the painting and I enjoy that design collaboration.”

Wotring, who earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2004 from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, is known primarily for her large-scale oil-based paintings varying from Abstraction to Expressionism. She is most recognized for her “Blue” series which incorporates knifework and brushwork to create interesting textural effects. The contrast of these thick gestural knife marks against smooth blended brushstrokes evokes a sense of space and depth.

“I’ve always been drawn to the color blue, which takes a leading role in many of my works. I’m most inspired by the beauty in nature – the calming effect of water, or the breathtaking colors of a sunset. The way colors play off each other can change the emotional response from the viewer, which I try to capture in my pieces,” she explained. “I work in layers to create texture and depth so you feel you could almost dive into the painting.”

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While it is Wotring’s hope that you “dive into” her paintings, she recognizes that it is highly personal and subjective.

“I think there needs to be a moment of emotional connection to the painting when you view it, and that’s what I hope to create for my clients and viewers,” she said.

Wotring, who moved quite a bit growing up, discovered art when she moved to a new school during her senior year of high school in Fairfax, Va. It was actually her art teacher who recognized her ability and pushed her to apply to art school.

“I was the new kid in a new school,” recalls Wotring of her senior year. “Most of the students had been doing art for years so I was a little out of my element, but somehow it came naturally to me. My teacher really

encouraged me to build a portfolio and apply to art school.”

And, to art school she went. From carrying her huge portfolio from class to class, to sketching and painting outdoors, to the smell of art supplies that filled the classrooms, Wotring has fond memories of that time.

“We started with the basics of sketching, charcoal drawing, mastering perspective and eventually moved into color and understanding how color can impact one another,” said Wotring of her college experience. “That’s what interested me most in the beginning and I started building upon that in my work.”

After college, Wotring moved to New York and then to Jersey City shortly thereafter.

“When I first moved to New Jersey I was working and living in my studio apartment, which was very small,” said Wotring. “I had a long narrow hallway that led into my apartment so I would line my hallway walls with drop cloth and stretch canvas all the way down the corridor. It was the only place in the apartment that was long enough for my canvases.”

Over time, Wotring branched out. Her art studio now resides in Manhattan, where she enjoys the exploratory process of abstract painting. “When I start a piece, I don’t know exactly where it’s going or how it will

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working through the process as I paint. I often lose sense of time when I’m in the studio as I’m problem solving and working through the creative process,” she said. “For example, adding a little white paint over here changes how the colors look over there. I love figuring that out as I go. It’s both a creative and logical experience, which keeps me engaged for hours at a time.”

Her works have been shown internationally from Japan to New York. Additionally, she is featured in many private and public collections within the U.S., as well as in commercial spaces within New York City. She is currently featured at Thalassa Restaurant in TriBeCa.

You can learn more about Wotring on her website, www. alliwotring.com; Instagram, @ alliwotring; or Facebook, Alli Wotring Fine Art.