Debra Maddox Fine Art

Debra Maddox
415-846-5100
debramaddox131@gmail.com


“Documenting the environment either through painting or photography has always intrigued me,” Debra states. “Observing how light, shadow, color, and texture transform shapes and forms into compelling compositions, drives my desire to record what I see in the world around me. My work reflects two components. One is visual and the other is emotional.”

Her body of work examines several themes – water, cycling, figures in motion, and old cars. Regardless of the topic, the visual and emotional elements are always constant. Her most recent work references images of black and white photography. The monochromatic subjects are less literal, and requires the viewer’s imagination and interpretation to take control. The juxtaposition of the subject and a color-field backdrop takes the image out of the realm of a literal narrative and opens the possibilities of imagination.

After receiving a Bachelor degree in Art Education, Debra completed post-graduate work in painting at the San Francisco Art Institute. She continued her studies of fine arts at various institutions around the Bay Area where she devoted her concentration on painting and photography.

Her water series has its early roots. As a teenager, she spent summers as a lifeguard with hours on end devoted to gazing at the shimmering water. Later as an adult, while accompanying her own children to their swim meets, she was inspired to focus on swimmers, divers, and water as subjects. She focused on capturing not only the fluidity and reflective nature of the water, but also the motion of the swimmers and divers.

“The reflection of light bouncing off of water, distorting shapes and color, creates another world- a dimension of calm solitude where the subject drifts into an elevated state of being. Submerged in water, one is weightless and free-flowing, leaving the worries of the world above the surface”

Her cyclist series focuses on another dimension - the freedom and exhilaration of the ride– being outdoors in the elements with the wind brushing past, momentarily escaping from the daily routine. “Nothing in life is static but always changing.”

The old car series evokes a time and place of a bygone era when cars resembled massive sculptural forms. During a time when the world moved at a slower pace, motorists ventured out without a destination in mind for the sheer pleasure of the drive.

As she weaves together all of the compositional and emotional elements, she allows her imagination to take control, resulting in compelling images that only exist in her mind.

Honors:

In 2006 Debra’s work was selected as the official poster for the Sausalito Art Festival.
Debra’s paintings and images have been selected by jury for the past eight consecutive years to be included in the annual publications, “Art of Northern California” and the “Art of Seeing” by Alcove Books. Her work is in private and corporate collections throughout the United States and Canada.