Michael Lester

Tryall Golf Club Edge of T 3, Jamaica

1960

My work is about something I wish I could have seen, imaginary worlds, a commentary on awe that is inspired by nature, science, and history. Objects in my work are a stand in for the...

This surreal landscape comes from the inner sanctum of artist Christina Haglid. Two paper orbs combine and reveal a portal to another dimension. The artist invites the viewer to take a closer look at nature, to question what is seen and to enter into a newly created world. Meticulous in her execution, Haglid uses watercolor as one might use a colored pencil. Layer upon layer of color is added to achieve this impressively detailed painting. The piece is matted and framed in a simple white frame measuring 20.25 x 16.75. Christina Haglid Nest, 2020 watercolor and gouache on paper 11h x 8w in 27.94h x 20.32w cm CMH051 Artist's Statement Tiny Sanctuaries There has always been an intersection between the process of writing and the act of painting in my work. It has somehow been my guide. In the last four years, during the making of this work, that connection intensified as I started writing short stories and flash fiction while taking online classes. I find the process of writing and painting so different in almost every way, but there is something freeing and generative in writing which helps my painting process. Or perhaps it's a reminder of what painting is for me - something intuitive that needs to be trusted. And what they do have in common is a desire to encapsulate and distill a single moment, a story, about the complexity of our emotions and experiences. At the heart of my work is the recurring depiction of perseverance, strength of will, and a subtle optimism. Symbolically through the objects, precarious situations depict a moment of possible difficulty, often involving the influence of nature. A paper crane left in the snow. A boat nearly filled to the brim, but not submerged and able to drain its own contents carefully. A slide alone at night...