By Julie Osterman
There’s no deep, hidden meaning in the work of Washington-based artist Stacey Neumiller. She just hopes that her rural scenes of large subjects against miniature backgrounds amuse her viewers, “just lift them up a little bit, to give them a little smile,” she explains. Most of Neumiller’s colorful oil paintings feature animals, birds, and plants found in agricultural settings—from oversized cows, pigs, roosters, and sheep to giant corn stalks and tomato plants—which isn’t suprising considering that the artist grew up on a farm in New Jersey and remembers drawing horses at the age of 5. “I wanted to do something that combined animals and the outdoors,” Neumiller says. She started out painting en plein air but felt her work was too similar to other artists’ and found it too time-consuming since she is also the mother of two boys.
Neumiller’s current series feels more natural to the artist, who works half-time in graphic design but is trying to focus more on painting, and as an added bonus she gets to spend her days giggling about her creations. Read more about the artist at www.staceyneumiller.com. She is represented by Gaskill/Olson Gallery, Langley, WA, and Blue Heron Gallery, Coupeville, WA.
Featured in “Artists to Watch” January 2004