Artist's Statement & Resume

"I have three passions in my life: art, history and spiritual growth. I find they complement each other well and each affects how I approach the other." Louise Minks has lived and painted in the small rural town of Leverett in Western Massachusetts for twenty-five years. Her colorful expressionistic oils and acrylics often focus on local scenes in the Connecticut River valley or along the Massachusetts seacoast just hours from her home.

The artist describes her "art school" as museums, books, gallery shows, and her fellow artists. Besides working with landscape painters George Cherepov and Charles Movalli, Louise has studied portraiture and developed figurative paintings around a theme. Her M.A. degree in American History has prompted Louise to develop several series of historical paintings that tour to educational and cultural institutions.

To create her acrylic screen prints Louise uses a special technique rather different from standard silk-screen printing. Her method uses no stencils and the image cannot be reproduced in multiples. Instead, acrylic ink is applied freehand to a screen, all the colors at once, and pulled through the screen one time. The ink is then discarded. Each print is a monotype - an original, one-of-a-kind piece. It is difficult to make very large pieces because the acrylic ink dries quickly and must be wet pulled through the screen while wet. To be successful at this process, the artist must be able to work quickly and confidently.

Louise's works can be viewed at her Millworks Studio at the historic 1834 Montague Mill, Montague Center as well as in 12 galleries around the world. She was 2002 Artist in Residence at the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and has also been Artist in Residence at the Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, NM, as well as at many public and private schools over the past ten years. Louise is a member of the prestigious National Association of Women Artists and the author of The Hudson River School, America's First Landscape Painters. She was commissioned to paint the 2001 replica of the sailing ship, "Friendship", in historic Salem Harbor for the 350th anniversary of Salem, Massachusetts.

Click here to view a copy of Louise's Artist's Resume.

Click here to view a copy of Directions to Louise Minks' Millwork Studios.