A third generation Californian, I spent a large part of my childhood on a 15,000 acre coastal cattle ranch - actually one of the original Spanish land grant ranchos - near Santa Barbara. My fondest memories include roaming alone on horseback for hours and hours, up and down the canyons, seeing the land go on forever from the ridgetops,and on the beach, observing the natural world with the innocent imagination of childhood.

To create my reconceived landscapes, simultaneously real and surreal, I utilize hotographs, field notes, and thumbnail sketches, but more importantly, I am able to tap into a huge visual reservoir of memories. Because I love nature and am so deeply connected with the land where I live and where I was raised, the imagery in my work is comprised of the topography, botany, geology, atmosphere and light indigenous to the West. Although derived from, but not necessarily specific places, these views and scapes are "re-imaginings " of familiar settings, often injected with an intense, and ometimes mysterious light, that invites the viewer to travel within, toward a well-lit horizon. The mood and personal experience that these paintings offer is therefore an invitation to connect with a unique landscape. There is often an element of surprise when I complete a painting and it turns out very different than I had originally planned. Then I, too, become another viewer – ready to step inside. ~ Phoebe Brunner