Overlapping, Surreal and Fragmented: Paintings by Allie Jensen
Tree Huggers, acrylic and lace on deep wrapped canvas
Allie Jensen is an artist from Tulsa who uses an innovative style, informed by a background in watercolor painting and an adaptable artistic spirit. The works often feature nature in some way, though the subject matter is overlapping, surreal and fragmented.
What Did You Do?, acrylic on deep wrapped canvas
I really love the way Allie paints tree bark and branches – rather than painting the whole tree as a static object, she seems to build up the form out of numerous undulating, overlapping shapes. Elongated, wavy forms like locks of hair form the basis of branches, offering a beautiful sense of movement that makes the trees seem even more vivid than in real life.
Her works combined realistic figures and landscapes with surreal touches, like figures that appear camouflaged on the background, overlapping compositions of two seemingly separate scenes, and symbolic elements like birds and gemstones. In a few works, the artist uses hardened lace layered over her canvas and into the painting to create a sculptural element and add ethereal texture to the surface of the painting.
