LARGER CANVAS FOR BIGGER QUESTIONS
Geisel’s abstract paintings like “Cobra Totem” and “Choices of the Cosmos” encour-age
the viewer to pause, to think about what is being captured and why, reflecting
on similar questions in their own lives. Often on larger canvases and utilizing brighter,
flatter colors and tones than those that make up her representational work, these
paintings have an immersive quality which invites contemplation and curiosity.
She is also tackling larger questions of emotion and human connection in her illus-trations
for a children’s book.
“It’s about how we make mistakes and forgive ourselves. It’s about handling big emo-tions
like sadness, anger, compassion and love; it’s about how life is about doing things
over and over again and trying to learn lessons from that repetition,” she says.
Her motivation to paint sums up an understanding that “art is something that con-nects
us to something special and spiritual within us. And when I feel that, or others
Constant, 24 x 30 inches, oil on canvas.
Cobra Totem, 40 x 30 inches, oil on canvas. do, I think that’s a success.”
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WBM february 2019
Choices of the Cosmos, 36 x 24 inches, oil on canvas.
At the same time, Geisel has laid several strokes of blue-green
paint into the foreground, accentuating the grass,
which has grown wild. The composition’s treetops and
background greenery are similarly depicted in thick,
dramatic lines and larger swaths of paint, laid on with the
palette knife’s edge.
Many of Geisel’s other outdoor paintings represent
beachside vistas and coastal homes. She and her hus-band
moved to North Carolina about 13 years ago and
Wrightsville Beach has become an important place, fea-tured
prominently in her oeuvre.
“I love painting at Wrightsville Beach,” she says. “My
friends and I go there often to paint the cottages or the
beaches. It’s a beautiful beach. And I know that a lot of
people feel a connection to it, for all different reasons.”