Artist’s Statement

Sometimes I think that I don’t select my subject matter, it selects me. This might explain why you will see landscapes, urban scenes, or paintings of people doing everyday things. I’ve always loved learning about other cultures and places, so in my artwork I strive to show bits of life that grabbed my attention and made me feel I just had to tell the story.

Watercolor and fluid acrylics allow me to be more interpretive than my earlier oil and pencil work. I believe it is the fact that watercolor and fluid acrylic flow in unpredictable ways that inspires me. These media absorb me into the work; allowing the piece to develop in directions not fully planned, but with more passion. This is part of the thrill of working in watermedia that I didn’t find in other media. By adding more of my emotional content than in the past I think those who see my art are more drawn to the story. In fact a visitor at one exhibit told me she thought my artwork was very happy and that she felt drawn into it in a way that a photograph could not accomplish.

I feel a piece is complete when I think the mood I want is achieved and the story shines through in the finished painting. Real success comes, however, when others tell me the story they see in the painting. Often their story is quite different than mine, but it doesn’t matter! I feel a tremendous sense of satisfaction for having been able to evoke a memory or an emotion in my viewer. What more could I ask for as an artist?

Bio

April Rimpo has been involved in art to some degree her whole life. Her father and grandfather had both painted so her inclination to draw came naturally. In her early twenties she took classes from a local artist which led to her first exhibit, where an art material manufacturer offered to purchase her painting to use in an ad for his materials. Despite the positive feedback, Rimpo knew she was not ready and has continued to take countless art classes and workshops throughout her life.

In college she studied Electrical Engineering. She says “I believe my engineering background taught me to see the world in a board expansive way, through the eyes of others, and from different perspectives. My artwork reflects that background.”

In 2012 Rimpo started to enter national exhibitions; her paintings were accepted into several, including the National Watercolor Society’s Exhibition and the Annual Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors. Since then she has been granted Signature Member Status in Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, Louisiana Watercolor Society, Missouri Watercolor Society, the Watercolor Art Society of Houston, Illinois Watercolor Society, and the Baltimore Watercolor Society. Rimpo currently exhibits with Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC and HorseSpirit Arts Gallery in Ellicott City, Maryland. In 2012 and 2013 April had work in Agora Gallery in New York City.

Rimpo has been give a variety of awards including Excellence in Figurative, First Place, Second Place, and Honorable Mentions. She has paintings included in North Light Books’ Best of Acrylic books: AcrylicWorks3: Celebrating Texture; AcrylicWorks4: Captivating Color; and selected for the 2018 edition AcrylicWorks5: Bold Values. Her painting, Lunch with Champagne, was selected for North Light Books’ 2018 Best of Watercolor book, titled Splash 19. See more of her artwork at www.AMRart.org.