Artist Statement
Whether it is of winter cottonwoods along a river bottom, the warm flush of an evening sun over the buttes of Southern Utah, or scenes from her journeys to foreign lands — to view a Bonnie Posselli painting is to be within the moment that Bonnie experienced.
Her most significant influences are from early landscape painters, John F. Carlson, Richard Schmid, Edgar Payne and LeConte Stewart. Carlson (1890-1945) was a noted expert on outdoor painting from the Art Students League Summer School in Woodstock, New York. His book, Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting, has become the “bible” for many serious landscape painters. Carlson’s philosophy is to paint nature at your own back door and not feel compelled to travel for the “picturesque”. His reverence for pure, natural landscape and his love of trees has inspired Bonnie throughout her career.
Biography
Bonnie Posselli grew up in Salt Lake City, the eldest of six children. Family vacations included camping throughout the western states. Bonnie remembers her absorption with the beauty and wonder of nature, now reflected in her paintings. As a young adult, Bonnie was encouraged by her mother, an artist, to join with her in a plein air painting group. From there the dye was cast.
CV
Bonnie Posselli’s CV