Cristeen Gamet

Artist Statement
 

Cristeen Gamet learned her skill of drawing and painting in Woodstock, New York and studied fine arts at SUNY New Paltz. The artist is the recipient of various awards and has exhibited in New York, Massachusetts and now in Pennsylvania. She is in private collections from New York to California and Montana as well as London and Sydney, Australia. 

The way Gamet catches the light and shadows, and creates colors and forms alive with energy, one can guess that her landscapes are a result of her experiencing and loving the subject firsthand. Her broad, painterly brushstrokes capture a sacred feeling for the place without overdone specifics. Seeing the world through this artist's eyes, imagining ourselves sitting before this water, trees and sky, is like being carried to a place of serenity. This is the feeling we want guests at the Lodge to carry with them. This is why we have chosen this artist for our Spring 2011 exhibit. Take the time to let her work transport you.

I have been painting for thirty years now and am mostly known for my landscapes and paintings of animals, but I also paint still lifes and self-portraits. I began my study of painting in high school with a private instructor in western New York from the Art Students League. My early years on the family dairy farm led to a love of being outdoors and eventually to a love of painting on location.My landscapes are started on location but always finished in my studio where I depend upon my memory instead of details. I am particularly interested in the spatial relationships between shapes, the mood, and feeling of the place. I want my work to feel spontaneous, not labored; fresh, not overworked. I enjoy the challenge to continually become more sensitized to my surroundings as well as my materials.