Featured Artist Irmgard Geul

Artist Irmgard Geul creates embroidery paintings that reflect the beauty and spaciousness of Oklahoma. See more of her portfolio by visiting her website.

 

 

I am a Dutch painter with an art studio located on a hilltop horse ranch. How lucky am I? My studio is just outside of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, my home since arriving from The Netherlands in 2003.

 

 

The ranch is spacious and the views are spectacular. I watch the sunrise and sunset daily, a source of inspiration for my art. The painted skies are two ever-changing works of art by nature that we have the opportunity to see every day.

 

 

Nature gives me a peaceful place to think and create as I find the calm of the country, at my stage in life, more inspiring than the city. I work daily from nine to six in my art studio, but I always manage to find the time to walk the pastures and explore the wonders of Oklahoma’s changing seasons.

 

 

Born and raised in The Netherlands, I grew up in a happy household of seven brothers and one sister in a rural town south of Amsterdam. I received my art degree from HKU University of the Arts in Utrecht (1981-1986). I have been a full-time 2D and 3D visual artist since, supported by several jobs in graphic and fashion design.

 

 

A couple of years ago, after opening some childhood boxes that I recovered from my mother’s attic, I developed the desire to map my memories and tell my stories through my art.

 

 

My late mother was an haute couture seamstress. Through using her collection of fabrics and yarn, I started creating my latest body of work—embroidery paintings—a definition I came up with the help of an artist friend.

 

 

First, I create the “mood” background with a painting on paper, poster board, or on a collage of woven fabric and cut up paintings/sketches. Then, the final image is created with sewing and embroidery thread by applying the stitches in a linear pattern to create depth and a visual perspective.

 

 

Last spring, I challenged myself to create stories of my adventures on and around the ranch. This resulted in eighty-one 8″ x 8″ sunrise and sunset experiences. My story and the accompanying series of embroidery paintings was featured in the Curbside Chronicle, an Oklahoma published magazine for homeless awareness.

 

 

My embroidery paintings keep evolving into more mystic, contemporary landscapes. Sometimes they are inspired by hiking trips in National Parks. They also come from observing my daily surroundings in rural American life, as well as from the many stories I like to share.

 

 

My art career has been an adventure; it’s constantly evolving and I am excited to see what comes next. I have collectors throughout the United States, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Colombia and Israel. I have gallery representations in Oklahoma and have had several solo and group shows around the world.

 

Artist Irmgard Geul invites you to follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

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