Familiar Forts (3/3)- Montana Wilson

Acrylic on Canvas
24" x 33" x 2"
 
I construct spaces that are informed by past environments, relationships and loss.

My work, Familiar Forts, consists of water imagery, the illusion of draped fabric, natural elements, and singularly defined objects such as a doc or pier. The water and fabric seamlessly merge to become both fort and natural landscape. The spaces are based from my experiences and memories of my childhood backyards.They were wooded with lakes and pools and scattered with forts I would build out of tree branches and old sheets. They provided a place of escape, adventure and wonder when I was young. In this painting I experiment with blending both fort and natural landscape to create a new place that is simple and surreal. The color palette is cool and the painting is vaguely empty to suggest my current detachment from my past environments. The lack of detail, the empty outdoor landing and the somber blue hues evoke a sense of abandonment and subsiding memory.