Ann-Marie Brown

Moving Target

encaustic & oil on canvas 30x40 inches. 2017

Artist Statement

I live surrounded by nature on the rugged coast of British Columbia next to the ocean surrounded by rainforest. Many of my paintings engage with this environment. Right now, however, thinking of being in nature, while watching the bombing of Ukraine, all I can think is that nature without shelter is a bitch. It's cold, it's hot—with rain & wind & soil that turns to mud. To be in nature without shelter is a tragedy.

I painted this painting in the aftermath of the Syrian war when refugees were making risky crossings across the American/Canadian border. The series was titled Cold Crossing, and this piece Moving Target—the title, a reminder that the circumstances that force migration are capricious and that the compassion we are being asked to extend today may be the compassion we need to receive tomorrow.

Ann-Marie Brown is a Canadian artist working out of a studio in coastal British Columbia. Her oil & encaustic paintings have been exhibited in Canada & the U.S. & have found their way into public, private, and corporate collections around the world. To see more of her work go to her website.