Brenda Backman

Artist Bio

Brenda Backman is a contemporary artist known for her evocative use of color and texture, creating immersive landscapes that explore the interplay between nature and emotion. Based in Story City, IA, she draws inspiration from her surroundings, transforming everyday scenes into vibrant, abstract interpretations.

Brenda’s artistic journey began at an early age, fueled by a passion for embroidery and a fascination with the natural world. She studied Iowa State University, where she honed her skills in various mediums, including fiber arts, sculpture and mixed media. Over the years, her work has evolved to reflect her deepening connection to the environment and her desire to convey the feelings that nature evokes.

Exhibiting widely across galleries and art fairs, Brenda’s work has garnered attention for its unique blend of color and abstraction. Her pieces invite viewers to experience a dialogue with the scenes she portrays, encouraging a personal reflection on the beauty and complexity of the world around them.

With a growing body of work and a commitment to artistic exploration, Brenda Backman continues to captivate audiences, inviting them to connect with the beauty of both her art and the natural world.

Rob Sunderman

Art Philosophy and Statement

My artwork has a strong connection to our natural environment and climate issues. I want the work to convey a sense of beauty but also confront the challenges we are facing with our environment. I want people to look at things in our world that are sometimes ignored or just not thought about. “We can live in harmony with nature and not dominate it. We can live within it as part of the cycle of our world. We can be sustainable.”

My work is very diverse in form. I work both in 2D and 3D. In the past I primarily have painted in oils but have been recently using other media to tell my stores. Also, incorporated painting and drawing in my 3D work continues to grow. Most of my paintings/drawings are about the movement of the paint/mark and how it feels to express a moment in time. It is an expressive and impressionistic flowing style. I have painted/drawn in plein air style, from photos and memory.

Not limiting materials is so important in my work generally. I use materials/mediums that best conveys the subject or story that I am addressing. I recently have been working on pieces dealing with renewal, fleeting moments and human intervention of natural cycles.

Specific to this exhibition and in general trees are a very important part of all my creative endeavors and life. You will find them in most of my work regardless of the medium I might be working with. I draw energy, insight and inspiration from the tree’s skeletal structures, shapes and textures. They are so important to us as humans and the cycle of the environment. They are strong and the backbone of all things that breath. I receive inspiration from them, repurpose them after death, give them importance and a new life.

A new painting/drawing/photography series I am working on is taking old ariel view photos of Iowa (1930’s – 1960’s ISU Ag Department) and painting organic elements on them. The mixed media pieces named “Aerial Iowa Revived” are about breaking out of the grid pattern created by Iowa’s farmland. These old aerial photo of Iowa are being repurposed as art eco statements. I have been drawing and painting tree/river forms on them, which are inspired by the way trees or river structures move, grow, connect through space. They are done in an illustrative style that is raw and direct. My marks gradually connect to the land. It is a response to its manmade and natural structures. These pieces are a statement of healing but also a reflection about the way we treat the Iowa landscape. The color gold is an important part of the composition of this work. It is used to repair the damaged squares that are part of the landscape of Iowa now. The square shapes of the photos themselves reflect how Iowa’s land has been so greatly altered. I also use gold pen marks to line the trees as a statement of new life and repairs. The tree/river forms move across the space to recognize the past and think about ways to create a new better path of seeing and living.

Time moves so fast that we rarely take time to notice a single beautiful moment. I want to preserve the pure glimpse of time on the move with in all my work. It is about reflection and then a more positive move forward.

One of my favorite quotes is from Leonardo Da Vince “Art is never finished it is only abandoned”.

Kelly Schwartz

Artist Statement

My art focuses on small detail and the playful whimsy of lines. Using the finest tip artist pens I explore the twisting and combining of forms seeking new ways to see things. My drawings are fluid and changing as I go, often uncertain how they will end. My inspiration comes from nature, the beauty and delicacy – yet robust circuitry of tree roots; the seeking curls of vining plants grabbing hold of anything in reach to climb higher; the one flower that manages to flourish in one small crack amidst a sea of concrete.
Conceptually, the seeking and the growing of these living structures mirrors us. As I draw, I aim to create an interesting and thought provoking design that is not only beautiful, but stretches our understanding of who we are, what we can do, and how it’s all related to each other. And, like life, it’s complicated.