Maddie Stratton

Maddie's obsession with color and light comes largely from growing up in the lush city of New Orleans. After receiving her BFA from Pratt Institute (2013), she moved back to her hometown in 2014 to pursue a deeper interest in painting. Maddie is a member of the Aquarium Gallery and Studios collective. She has exhibited work in the Louisiana Contemporary Juried Exhibition at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Sibyl Gallery, and Good Children, among many other group shows. She also participated in the Azule and Jx Farms residencies. She recently installed a solo exhibition, "Interloper," at the Java Project in Brooklyn, New York. Maddie lives and works in New Orleans, where she also works as a scenic painter for a Mardi Gras house floats company. However, she spends most of her time working on her own paintings in her studio at the Aquarium Gallery in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans.


Artist Statement

Maddie Stratton paints colorful acrylic scenes drawn from memories, sketches, and photos. She begins each painting with a bright, warm wash to give her work a sense of whimsy and movement—a sun-kissed quality of being outside too long.

Maddie's paintings are primarily inspired by place; from walks around neighborhoods and parks to road trips along the Gulf Coast, her obsession with the color and light of New Orleans seeps into her paintings. Much of her recent inspiration, however, comes from the aftermath of outdoor parties in parks and backyards—temporary backdrops for a celebratory environment.

She is inspired by what happens to the things we leave behind when the party's over: the single-use items that don't disappear when they are discarded. Trash cans overflowing, popped balloons hanging on a cat's claw-covered chain link fence, paper plates piled with food, a birthday cake slice forgotten under a napkin, spilled wine spreading fast across the tablecloth.

Set under the cast of a late afternoon sun, her paintings ponder the after-party. Has everyone retreated, forgetting to clean up? Or have the humans disappeared in some catastrophic event? What happened is unclear, but the evidence is incontrovertible: only humans leave parties (and messes) like this.


www.maddiestratton.com

What initially sparked your interest in art?

I've pretty much known I wanted to be an artist from the beginning. As a child, I always had a pad of paper and colored pencils or crayons with me wherever I went, and I would sit and draw for hours. My mom, who is an artist, would sometimes sit and draw with me. My parents would bring me along when they went to museums, gallery openings, etc. As I got older, I helped my mom at her craft shows and markets with setup, inventory, sales, etc. In high school, I attended NOCCA, the arts conservatory in New Orleans, where I developed a deeper appreciation for art and was encouraged to attend art school. I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be an artist, and my mom's profession always made being an artist feel like a real option—almost more real than traditional jobs like doctor or lawyer.


What connects your work together and what keeps you creating?

I think what connects my paintings is their sense of color and texture. I love vibrant colors juxtaposed with earthy tones in unexpected ways. I also usually depict some kind of natural element, and I seem to be obsessed with painting sunsets and pink skies. I feel a kind of electricity when I see a painting I like or observe something in the world that inspires me. The need to create is compulsive; when I get into a state of flow in the studio, I could paint for hours. It just makes me happy!


Describe your work using three words.

Colorful, surreal, sunkissed.


What are you most proud of as an artist, whether it's a specific moment or who you are as an artist?

I guess I'm just proud that I've kept going with it. Being an artist can be punishing. My work is inherently personal, so it's hard not to take any achievement or rejection personally. It has been a hard year (I broke my foot and was out of work for months at the beginning of the year), and when I look at my finances, imposter syndrome rears its head. I start thinking maybe I'm not cut out for this, maybe this is the time when I decide to get a 'real job.' But I won't—I don't think I would be as happy doing anything else. I love that I am able to commit so much time to something that brings me joy, and I am proud that I can keep it going.


If you could be in a two-person exhibition with any artist from history, who would it be and why?

I don't know if I can choose just one! My top three are:
Alice Neel: Her portraits have inspired me so much throughout high school and beyond. I love her use of color in the faces and how she can describe people's personalities with brushstrokes.
Matisse: I am obsessed with The Red Studio painting and many of his portraits' use of seemingly random colors on faces.
David Hockney: Also a forever inspiration. I love his portraits and his sense of color.


What themes or emotions are you exploring in your current work?

My recent inspiration comes from the aftermath of outdoor parties in parks and backyards—temporary backdrops for a celebratory environment and the detritus left behind. In my work, I aim to discuss difficult subjects such as climate change and wealth disparities through colorful paintings and tongue-in-cheek scenes. I use animals and birds as subjects, anthropomorphizing them to further remove the scenes from their dark undertones and make them (only slightly) easier to digest.


What does your creative process look like?

I paint colorful acrylic scenes drawn from memories, sketches, and photos. I begin each painting with a bright, warm wash to give my work a sense of whimsy and a sun-kissed quality of being outside too long. While that dries, I spend a very long time sitting in my studio looking through photos to create a digital collage as a source image for a painting.

My work is primarily inspired by place. My source images and inspiration come from walks around neighborhoods and parks and road trips along the Gulf Coast. My obsession with the color and light of New Orleans seeps into my paintings from all these sources. To supplement my sources, I search for a specific image on Google (e.g., "bird landing"), then digitally cut it out and add it. The majority of the compositions that I paint are designed to procreate. Most of my color decisions are made as I am painting.


What inspires you outside of the visual arts?

I love being outdoors—whether it's taking walks, (amateur) bird watching, or tending to my porch garden. I also like spending time with friends and my senior orange tabby, Bijou.


How do you balance personal expression with the business side of your career?

I have seasons of productivity where I am in the studio constantly: painting, planning out compositions, and sketches. When I become less inspired to paint, I (try to) spend solid chunks of time on the computer applying to various residencies or publications, answering emails, and updating my website. I usually try to section off time for business so it doesn't interfere with my creative workflow.


What do you hope viewers feel or take away from your work?

When viewing my paintings, I hope people get a sense of whimsy with a bit of a dark undertone—the feeling of a party gone on too long.