Abstracting the Landscape

At this moment—when the world as we’ve known it seems to be unravelling—I find myself searching for ways to respond through my daily life and artistic practice. For more than a decade, my encaustic and oil paintings have returned again and again to the theme of finding light in darkness—expressing hope and optimism through my connection to the natural world, even in turbulent times.

My work explores liminal spaces between day and night, recollection and observation, realism and abstraction. Viewers often tell me that my paintings resonate emotionally, evoking memories, experiences, and a sense of place.

In recent years of political and social upheaval, my work has evolved—shifting in materials, palette, and emotional intensity. Some paintings have grown darker and more visceral, with higher contrast, saturated hues, and vigorous scraping and scratching of layered surfaces. These gestures release grief and anger as I process the world around me. I often leave these pieces unresolved, creating an unsettling or ambiguous mood that invites contemplation about this moment in history. Even my titles, such as The Coyotes Howled Until Dawn, reflect a heightened sense of danger and awareness.

Other works, while marked by turbulence, feel as though they’ve emerged through the storm—their harmony suggesting resilience or fragile peace. I find myself oscillating between these emotional poles of dread and serenity, both of which seep naturally into my process rather than being consciously planned. Through and beyond upheaval, I hold fast to an awareness of the transient nature of existence, exploring themes of impermanence and fleeting light. These reflections are both a response to our uncertain era and an acknowledgment of my own evolving sense of time as I age.

Regina Bernadette Quinn – Bio

Regina B. Quinn is an encaustic artist based in the Northern Catskill Mountains of New York, after decades in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Her creative career has spanned painting, photography, ceramics, printmaking, and theatrical set design, though her primary focus is now encaustic mixed media.

“I was struck by the luminosity and subtlety of Doug and Mike Starn’s encaustics,” she writes, “and immediately sensed that this was my medium—one that could give voice to my aesthetic, sensibility, and quiet personality. I haven’t looked back.”

Regina is President of International Encaustic Artists and Vice-Chair of the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum (WAAM) Board of Directors. She teaches encaustics in Ireland and at the Woodstock School of Art, and has received numerous honors, including the Faber Birren National Color Award, the Cooperstown Art Association Grand Prize, and the WAAM Yasuo Kuniyoshi Award.

Represented by Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, NY, her work is held in the permanent collections of the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center (Brooklyn) and the Museum of Encaustic Art (Santa Fe). She exhibits regularly in juried and invitational shows, including the Salmagundi Club (NYC), WAAM, and Ann Marie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, a Smithsonian affiliate. Recent solo exhibitions include Radiant Edges (Cooperstown Art Association), An Unexpected Light (Locust Grove Estate, Poughkeepsie), and Expressions in Every Form (Bank Art Gallery, Newburgh).