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Trisha Adams | Impressionist landscape painter



Trisha Adams was born and raised in California. She went to college at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri with a year's honor study in Oxford, England. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in psychology, but it was her work as college yearbook editor which sparked her choice of vocation. She moved to Virginia and began working in the advertising department of a local newspaper. Because of her interest in computers, she quickly transitioned to desktop publishing and opened her own graphic design firm in 1985. After selling her business in 1990, she joined a color printing company establishing their electronic prepress department and retail service bureau.














Trisha began painting in 2001 and by 2004 she was painting fulltime. Landscapes are a favorite subject and she enjoys traveling to Provence, Italy and Mexico to paint. She is a member of the 100-year-old Washington Society of Landscape Painters.
Trisha’s paintings are in the collections of the Virginia State Senate, the town of Leesburg, VA, Loudoun County Government, the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, the Maryland Cancer Center, the Winchester Medical Center and on the set of the television series, Madam Secretary.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am interested in the way a painting - a flat, inanimate object - can evoke feelings, especially those of joy, whimsy, wistfulness or serenity. I believe the "aesthetic response to color harmonies" is responsible for stimulating these feelings and for that reason much of my study has focused on color.
The paintings are representational with a dash of abstraction. When I paint, my aim is not to render an object per se, instead I record the pattern of colored shapes. When I step back, the shapes coalese into things, people and places. It feels like magic.
The brushstrokes are an important part of the painting. Applied boldly, the energy remains in the mark and enlivens the painting. No attempt is made to fool you that the subject is real. Instead, the painting is my take on things. Just as a writer picks and chooses the details to include and the words to flavor or slant a story with, I edit the content of the painting. When I've found something interesting, I exaggerate it so that the viewer will see it, too.
One can pursue painting for a lifetime because it is is endlessly filled with discovery and experimentation. I invite you to share that journey with me.

AWARDS/HONORS
  • "Outstanding Acrylic", Bold Brush Painting Contest, April 2015
  • "Outstanding Abstract", Bold Brush Painting Contest, February 2015
  • "Finalist" Gateway to Sedona Artist Competition, July 2014
  • Artists’ Choice Award for Artistic Merit, Paint Herndon!, September 2010
  • Honorable Mention, Millville, NJ Plein Air Competition, June 2009
  • Artist Residency, Ora Lerman Charitable Trust, Wyalusing, PA, July 2007
  • 2nd Place, Oils, Red Barn Art Exhibit, Waterford, VA, October 2006
  • Honorable Mention, Oils, Red Barn Art Exhibit, Waterford, VA, October 2005
  • Purchase Award, Town of Leesburg’s ‘Fall Into the Arts’, Oct. 2, 2004 
  • "50 Pieces", Anthenaeum Gallery (Art League), Alexandria, Oct. 2004
  • 2nd Place, Professional Artist, Fall into the Arts, Oct. 2003
  • 1st Place, Mixed Media/Drawing/Pen and Ink, Waterford, VA, Oct. 2003
  • 2nd Place, Mixed Media, Middleburg Art Show, Sept. 2003
  • 3rd Place, Acrylic Painting, Middleburg Art Show, Sept. 2003.
IN THE MEDIA
  • "Landscapes of Summer - a Various Language" Piedmont Virginian magazine, Summer 2014;
  • "Artist to Collect: Trisha Adams. Colour Me Bold!" Arabella Magazine, Winter 2013;
  • "A Return to Tradition", American Art Collector Magazine, November 2009;
  • Artist profile, Northern Virginia Magazine, March 2009;
  • Abstract energy fills 'Places in the Sun'”, exhibition review, Carroll County Times, August 8, 2007;
  • "Best of America: Oil Artists & Artisans, vol. 1", book, 2007;
  • "Spirit of Discovery", feature article & cover, elan Magazine, July/August, 2006;
  • Loudoun Friday Times, artist profile, October 1, 2004;
  • Gallery Beat, Old Town Crier, painting review, September 2004;
  • "Taking on New Shapes", Loudoun Magazine, August 2002.
COLLECTIONS
  • Path of Flowers and Wildflower Hillside, Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, March 2013;
  • So Sunny and Delicious Too, Winchester Medical Center, Winchester, VA; 2012;
  • Summer Triptych, Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, VA; 2011;
  • Barn on Loyalty Road, County of Loudoun, Leesburg, VA; 2009;
  • Dusk, Virginia State Capitol, Richmond, VA; 2007:
  • Rockland Farm, Town of Leesburg, VA; 2004.
PUBLIC ART
  • Horsing Around Loudoun (painted fiberglass horse sculptures), Leesburg, VA, May 2005-March 2006
AFFILIATIONS
  • Washington Society of Landscape Painters