Nixon's paintings contemplate and question the surface and depth of the picture plane. She crafts complex relationships between the viewer and her work through the illusion of shifting foreground and background. She begins with abstractions, often-gestural works, made from thin washes of colors. These are composed and then covered with an entirely new abstract Impasto-work made with thickly applied paint-often using geometric styles. Area's left unfinished on the Impasto reveals the wash Pentimento-the underpainting. The Impasto acts as a window frame while the viewer is near the work; yet, visually shifts to become the background when a viewer is farther away. It's clear the Pentimento is behind the Impasto when standing next to the work; yet, across the room, these areas seem to break the picture frame and float in front of the Impasto. Each of the works-built up over weeks, before altered and worked again-have a luminous warmth and spatial depth.
 
Born in Oklahoma in 1970, Laine Nixon currently lives and works in Sarasota, Florida. Following her participation in numerous regional exhibits, Nixon has received endowments from the John Ringling Towers Fund, as well as, residencies at the Hermitage Artist Retreat and The Longboat Key Center for the Arts.
 

Exhibitions
Artworks