Jill Lear explores themes of proportion and space in her paintings, and has found trees to be an ideal means for this dialogue. She focuses on their root and trunk systems, balancing the chunky, powerful bases with the light, graceful lines throughout the landscape. Similarly, she incorporates both painterly brushwork and architectural linearity, ultimately finding an equilibrium between the two. Through exploring the roots and the roles they play in the landscape, Lear celebrates the groundedness and longevity of the trees, displaying with awe the sense of permanence that they instill. This series of paintings continues her work with trees in the landscape, which she has been exploring for eight years. Here, she features a compact form of the white pine (Pinus strobus ‘Nana’), copper beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Atropurpurea’), and yoshino cherry trees (Prunus x yedoensis), which can all be found in the vicinity of Wave Hill House. The titles of each painting document their precise locations on Wave Hill’s property.

Jill Lear has participated in group exhibitions at the Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID; Gallery Shoal Creek, Austin, TX; New York Studio School Gallery, New York, NY; Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco, CA; and Wright State University Art Galleries, Dayton, OH. Her work is in the collections of Wright State University Art Galleries, Dayton, OH; the Kelley and Maggie Taber Collection, Shoreline, WA; and the Philip Isles Collection, New York, NY. She received a fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT. Lear earned her BA from Southern Methodist University and she attended the New York Studio School.

More information can be found at: http://jilllear.com/home.html