Short Bio:

Polly Castor is a lifelong artist. She went to the University of Michigan, and has lived in Bethel, Connecticut for the last 31 years. Her passion is working within the full range of abstraction, from impressionism to non-objective art, with particular emphasis on abstract conceptualism, depicting specific ideas, feelings, and actions. She enjoys working in many mediums– oil, pastel, acrylic, mono-print, collage, watercolor, gouache, photography, and ceramics– and her creative approach of cross-pollinating these mediums with one another brings original results.

In addition to painting, Polly gives talks and workshops on abstract art. She sporadically teaches a high school abstract art class in Newtown, gives workshops for adults, takes trips to paint in plein air, and for three summers has had an artist–in–residency in Maine. She has been juried into membership in the Pastel Society of America, has had many large one woman shows, and has been juried into lots of national and international group shows. She is also a blogger, and has blogged every day for fourteen years on www.PollyCastor.com. Her paintings are available for purchase on PollyCastorArt.com, and available for download at SoulfulArtImageLicensing.com.

Artist’s statement:

My art is a process of spiritual discovery, and is a celebration of deep authenticity.

My goal is to evoke what underlies and encompasses all creation, in representational as well as abstract forms. It is a way of meditation, a time of connecting with what is both beyond me and within me. It is the outcome of prayer, and is a form of prayer itself.

I observe and amplify the good around me. I am in love with vibrant color and can never have too much of it. Enjoying the interplay and juxtaposition of hue, tone, texture, pattern, and shape, I am fascinated with the way each contributes unity to the whole. Art resolves issues and raises new questions, which in turn, uncover fresh ideas to explore. My art is an explosion of ideas, energy, and inspiration.