Caitlyn Brandt’s inspiration comes from walking in nature.
The Michigan-based artist, whose landscape paintings are now on display at the Crawfordsville District Public Library’s Mary Bishop Memorial Gallery, is drawn to the forests, ravines, mountains and lakes that dot the Midwestern countryside.
“Whatever catches my eye,” Brandt said.
Following a visit to Sunset Lake in Wisconsin, Brandt, who likes working with unnatural colors, created a scene featuring a web of pink tree limbs branching out against a late-day pink sky and water. The piece is among those featured in the gallery through April.
Brandt decided in high school to pursue an art career, starting out as an illustrator before discovering a passion for painting landscapes. Her work has been displayed at galleries in Chicago and throughout Michigan.
Bishop gallery coordinator Toni Ridgway-Woodall, who first met Brandt at an artists’ residency on the banks of the Kalamazoo River, said the pieces approach the natural world from a different angle.
“It kind of plays on that idea on how we interact with the environment … and you can see a million paintings of a forest, but you don’t always see it from this perspective,” Ridgway-Woodall said.
Brandt’s work is open for viewing during regular library hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The library is closed on Sundays. A limited number of pieces are available for sale at the circulation desk.
Following Brandt’s show, the gallery will launch CDPL’s summer programs by displaying art created by library staff members. The Covered Bridge Artist Association and Abilities Services Inc. are on tap for later this year.
Artists interested in displaying their work at the gallery can contact Ridgway-Woodall at 765-362-4618.
