Jessie Van der Laan
absorption 2, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 2018, 11”x15”
“I build layers of color as a way to build history in my prints, drawings, and fiber work.”
Jessie Van der Laan is an artist living and working in Knoxville, Tennessee (USA). Her approach to color involves transparent layers and her approach to printmaking is “everything in variation!”. Jessie’s layered, textured and transparent work is created with monotype, relief and screenprint printmaking techniques along with drawing, watercolor, colored pencil and fiber-based materials. Currently she is working on a series reflecting on the experience of motherhood, layering figurative elements with real and constructed landscapes.
still/deep 5, relief monotype on paper, 2019, 18.75”x57.75”
Are there specific associations towards color in your work?
Most of my associations with color are derived from the landscape, in particular rock formations, flowers, trees and the sky. I'm particularly drawn to fluctuations in color due to either light or time.
“I use variation in transparency and vibrancy of color to create either lenses or veils, either highlighting or obscuring the layer below. ”
Where do you reside between technical and intuitive in your work as an artist using color?
At this point, I feel my use of color is very intuitive, but it is built on a strong technical knowledge of color theory. I had a very in-depth and technical color theory professor in my undergraduate studies that gave me a foundation for color. I also attribute many years of working with visiting artists in both my undergraduate and graduate studies to honing my understanding of color, by needing to mix color for other artists.
gazers 2, watercolor and colored pencil on paper, 2020, 30”x22”
talus integument p20, relief monotype on paper, 2016, 50”x30” , published by Pele Prints, photo credit Amanda Verbeck
“I attribute many years of working with visiting artists in both my undergraduate and graduate studies to honing my understanding of color, by needing to mix color for other artists.”
How does the printmaking process itself relate to how you work with color?
I have always used the transparency of ink as a key element in using color. I build layers of color as a way to build history in my prints, drawings, and fiber work. Often the end result of my work is subtle, but the initial layers are often built from very vibrant but transparent color. I also take advantage of ghost printing in my prints to maximize the use of each plate, add more layers of information, and to intertwine monotypes into a related series. I equate this use of color to the sense of history I see in layers of rock formations, or the layers of atmosphere in viewing the landscape.
How does color represent or support the mind space of your work?
My work creates spaces which hold anxiety and hope in the same space, examining the small moments which shapes the past or the future. The layers of transparent color I use in my work serve as the complicated layers that contribute to the sum experience. Additionally, I use variation in transparency and vibrancy of color to create either lenses or veils, either highlighting or obscuring the layer below.