'Floating Through the West' by Patrick Kochnasz

The Modbo presents March’s First Friday: “Floating Through the West” by Patrick Kochanasz.

About the artist:

Patrick Kochanasz is a native of Eastern Pennsylvania, where he studied at The Baum School of Art for several years.

Captivated by the luminosity and tactile nature of soft pastels, he began studying the medium earnestly in 2004.

He moved to Colorado Springs in 2011 and quickly fell under the Rocky Mountains’ beautiful spell. Kochanasz is available for private commissions and gallery collection proposals.

About the Show:

“Floating Through the West” merges both realistic and dreamlike elements, to create a whimsical, capricious, “floating” interpretation of nature.

Kochanasz employs a number of distinct techniques in capturing this vision, including: the utilization of black paper, unusual edge cuts, the omission of blending tools, a textured appearance, as well as the incorporation of hard black lines around most elements within the frame.

His landscapes are largely inspired by places he’s lived and explored- including Pennsylvania, Vermont and Colorado.

Kochanasz strives to evoke the viewer’s sentiment of “I want to be there,” a sense of spatial desire.

For the artist, the process of producing art is a very inward and grounding experience.

His imaginative search for peaceful seclusion often manifests itself as an isolated cabin nestled among an idyllic land.