Artist’s Statement

I have had the good fortune during my adult life to enjoy the beauty of the natural world whenever I walk out my door. Throughout the twenty years that my husband and I spent in Poquoson, my view consisted of the salt marsh that borders Roberts’ Creek. Some of my fondest memories are of excursions paddling our kayaks across the Poquoson River channel to the Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge. The vantage point when one sits just two feet above the water is expansive. I recall seeing miles of marsh and shallow brackish water, but my most profound reaction was to the magnificent sky that formed a dome over the horizon.

Today, we reside on a hill surrounded by the mountains of central Virginia. The gentle slopes of the Shenandoah seem to rise from our backyard, but when I assemble my thoughts for painting, it is ever the mercurial and dramatic skies that command my attention. Enchantment and inspiration surround me, day and night. Four years ago, I embarked on a creative journey, devoting my painting time to exploring the magical – and often unpredictable – qualities of watercolor. Particularly charmed by the unique ability of the watercolor medium to allow the pigment to "granulate" to mix new hues on the substrate, I developed a process of painting whereby I limited my palette to three colors in each painting. Allowing those colors to mingle, I invoked my response to the surrounding skies. The colors of the atmosphere, influenced by moisture in the clouds and time of day, intrigue me.

 

Grounded for many years in a style of traditional realism, today my paintings navigate between reality and interpreted vision, creating impressionistic scenes of subtle tension. My approach is both spontaneous and controlled, where quick brushwork, washes, and manipulated light are countered by passages of precise rendering.

It is my goal to express my feelings—to interpret, rather than record; to inspire rather than simply remind. Evoking the essence of the familiar, I seek to transport the viewer to a heightened appreciation of ephemeral moments in time.

Chee Kludt Ricketts was a Hampton Roads resident for over thirty years, moving in 2006 to the foothills of the Blue Ridge near Stanardsville. While living on the coast, she taught students of all ages from three to eighty-three, concluding her teaching career at Hampton Roads Academy, where she was instrumental in developing the Academy’s Fine Arts program.

Retirement from full-time teaching has afforded Chee the opportunity to pursue painting on a regular basis. Her paintings reflect her interest in the effects of light on the natural world and her affinity for the brilliant colors that abound in nature. Her style is constantly evolving as she moves from tighter, more controlled representational work to paintings that reflect her feelings about a particular subject.

Recent recognitions include receiving two "Awards of Distinction" in Juried Exhibitions of the Virginia Watercolor Society (2009, 2014), "The Award of Excellence" from the 19th Annual Juried Exhibition of the Central Virginia Watercolor Guild at the McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, and the purchase by both Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg and Augusta Health Medical Center in Fishersville of watercolors for each hospital’s permanent collection. Her work is exhibited regionally throughout the Southeast.

Chee continues a strong commitment to the arts by functioning as a juror for local shows, giving demonstrations for high school students, and serving as President of the Central Virginia Watercolor Guild, based in Charlottesville, during 2010. Although she limits her time for teaching, Chee has been invited to present multi-day workshops and demonstrations sponsored by the Central Virginia Watercolor Guild, the Shenandoah Valley Art Center in Waynesboro, and The Arts Center in Orange, VA.

A native of Camden, South Carolina and a graduate of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, Chee has earned credit in additional classes and graduate courses at The College of William and Mary, Old Dominion University, Christopher Newport University, and La Salle University and has studied with nationally recognized painters. She feels, however, that practice is the best teacher; therefore, she paints daily in her studio, located in the English walk-out basement of her family’s farmhouse.

www.cheekludtricketts.com