Last Page - Victoria Pinney
Last Page - Victoria Pinney: “When I first moved to Asheville, a friend dragged me to an encaustic painting workshop, where I made the joyous discovery that you can paint and you don’t have to stay within the lines.”
Expecting to Fly, 25" x 25", oil on panel By Victoria Pinney
Victoria Pinney never envisioned she would embrace art as a career. “Although moved by texture and color, I thought that because I can’t draw I could never be an artist,” she recalls. The abstract artist finds inspiration in everyday things—from peeling paint on a building to mottled bark on a tree, working with oil paint and other substances such as wax, sand, and string. “I start with an idea—usually color more than shape—and create a surface using those components. I love texture.” She is represented by The Lucy Clark Gallery & Studio in Brevard, WEDGE Studios, and Gallery Mélange.
That first workshop 15 years ago led to valuable friendships. “Mark Bettis—that same friend, who by introducing me to encaustic gave me my art career, and I, along with fine jeweler Jeffrey Burroughs, have opened Gallery Mélange on Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville,” she says. “Mark and I knew each other before we moved here, and when we started out we shared a tiny space in The WEDGE. We were aware of Jeffrey’s fine jewelry from his shop in the Arts District. His artfully designed jewelry and outsized personality have been the perfect fit.” See more of her work at victoriapinney.com