Lisa J. Grossman - 2008

Since the early '90s I've been a plein air painter of open prairie spaces. The distance, the tension between land and sky, the progression of twilight, and shifts in weather and seasons have been central themes in my work.

The paintings and prints represented here carry on those themes but also reflect a shift in my work around 2004 to explore the Kansas River Valley.

Several years before on a commercial flight back from Los Angeles, I saw the Kansas River stretching west as the plane passed over my home in Lawrence. I was struck by the beauty of this shining line coming through the darkened prairies. The "Kaw's" graceful curves and wide sweeping arcs were revealed beautifully with a little elevation. I'd painted the river from its banks and bluffs before, but this compelled me to pursue more aerial investigations.

Since then I've had the opportunity to fly the length of the river at lower altitudes and document it with camera and video. I've used the footage to create much of my river paintings and prints in the studio. Using multiple images was my natural response to the way I saw the river-in motion. As I worked with a series of images I realized they also mimicked the frame-by-frame nature of my footage. I'm not so much trying to freeze moments in time as much as I am attempting to convey my experience of them.

For 170 miles, from Junction City to Kansas City, the Kaw flows through the 10 most populated counties in Kansas. That's no accident-the Kaw's waters are vital to our ability to inhabit these communities. In part because of our dependence, it has suffered many abuses. I've learned a great deal about this river and have become very fond of it in the process of my explorations. I've met many wonderful people involved in its care. My wish is to share some of what I've discovered, to present a new way of seeing the Kaw, and ultimately to awaken a new appreciation for it.

Lisa Grossman is a native of Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. She has degrees from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the University of Kansas in Lawrence. In 1988 Lisa moved to Kansas City Missouri to work as an illustrator for Hallmark Cards, and left in 1995 to pursue her own career. Lisa currently lives in Lawrence working as a full-time painter and printmaker.