Artist's Statement & Resume
Click here to view a copy of Louise's Artist's Resume.
"I have three passions in my life: art, history and spiritual growth. I find they complement each other well and each affects how I approach the other." Louise Minks has lived and painted in the small rural town of Leverett in Western Massachusetts for twenty-five years. Her colorful expressionistic oils and acrylics often focus on local scenes in the Connecticut River valley or along the Massachusetts seacoast just hours from her home.
The artist describes her "art school" as museums, books, gallery shows, and her fellow artists. Besides working with landscape painters George Cherepov and Charles Movalli, Louise has studied portraiture and developed figurative paintings around a theme. Her M.A. degree in American History has prompted Louise to develop several series of historical paintings that tour to educational and cultural institutions.
To create her acrylic screen prints Louise uses a special technique rather different from standard silk-screen printing. Her method uses no stencils and the image cannot be reproduced in multiples. Instead, acrylic ink is applied freehand to a screen, all the colors at once, and pulled through the screen one time. The ink is then discarded. Each print is a monotype - an original, one-of-a-kind piece. It is difficult to make very large pieces because the acrylic ink dries quickly and must be wet pulled through the screen while wet. To be successful at this process, the artist must be able to work quickly and confidently.
Louise's works can be viewed at her Millworks Studio at the historic 1834 Montague Mill, Montague Center as well as in 12 galleries around the world. She was 2002 Artist in Residence at the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and has also been Artist in Residence at the Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, NM, as well as at many public and private schools over the past ten years. Louise is a member of the prestigious National Association of Women Artists and the author of The Hudson River School, America's First Landscape Painters. She was commissioned to paint the 2001 replica of the sailing ship, "Friendship", in historic Salem Harbor for the 350th anniversary of Salem, Massachusetts.
Programs and Touring Exhibits
Louise Minks was first trained as a historian. Now that she is a professional artist, she enjoys linking history and art in her paintings, writing and also in special programs for the public. The following programs are available for a sliding fee scale. (*indicates a touring art exhibition is available separately or with the artist's program)
Please contact Louise at:
Email:
Phone: 413-367-2800
"The Hudson River School: America's First Landscape Painters": a slide presentation based on the artist's lavishly illustrated coffee table book, The Hudson River School. Presentation sites include the Museum of Fine Art, Springfield, MA. Copies have been available at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, and at Olana, Hudson, NY, studio and home of Frederick Church.
* "Harpers Ferry, the Civil War, and the Massachusetts Connection": a slide and original art presentation created as artist-in-residence at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, WV. Subjects include John Brown, African American history, the abolitionist movement, and the armories at Harpers Ferry and Springfield, MA. Presentation sites include the Museum of Fine Art, Springfield, MA, and Greenfield Community College, Greenfield MA.
* "The First American Revolution: The Pueblo Revolt of 1680": a slide and original art presentation created as artist-in-residence at the Wurlitzer Foundation, Taos, NM, about the only truly successful Native American resistance to European colonization. This powerful story centers on freedom of religion. A touring exhibition of ten large paintings replicating historic hide paintings is the centerpiece of the presentation. Presentation sites include: San Juan College, Farmington, NM, organized by Navajo Preparatory School; "A Celebration of American History" at Historic Deerfield, MA; and Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, MA.
* "Upon Reflection: African American Portraits": a touring exhibition and/or slide presentation of ten near-life size portraits of African American people who have had an impact on the life and thinking of the artist. Five figures are from the past and five from the present. Each embodies a powerful national or local story in American history. The paintings were created while Louise was artist-in-residence at Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, MA; her favorite figure from the series is Lucy Terry Prince, 1740s, of Deerfield. Prince is now considered the first African American woman poet in America, and Louise's painting of her is the only image created thus far. The paintings and program have been to countless schools, institutions, colleges and museums since its creation in 1994.
"In Pursuit of Freedom": a participatory history presentation, including the artist's illustrations created for the guidebook to the Freedom Center Underground Railroad Museum, Cincinnati, Oh. Based on Massachusetts documentation, this lively program gives audience members historical identities and notes to provoke discussion about freedom-seeking slaves, their helpers and those opposed. This new program is based on the artist's participation in the Underground Railroad Network sponsored by the National Park Service.
"Paupers & Poor Farms: Responding to Poverty, 1630-WWII": a participatory history presentation using historic documents to encourage discussion about the ways New England communities have responded to the poor since the earliest years of the nation. Audience members are given identities and notes from early records. Created in the 1980s, this popular program has toured to countless historical societies, educational workshops and schools. Using this material, Louise was keynote speaker at a Connecticut state conference of social workers.
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