Extracting Essence: Translating Nature into Dynamic Abstraction With Andrea Wedell
With Nina Hausfeld, LPC, ATR
FREE! Tuesday May 12, 6 – 8:00 PM
BAA Community Studio
Located in Wilderness Art Studios
2810 Wilderness Pl, Suite C
Join contemporary abstract painter Andrea Wedell for an immersive, 90-minute session that bridges the gap between the natural world and the abstract canvas. This presentation is designed for artists of all levels who want to move past “literal” representation and develop a personal visual language rooted in the energy of their surroundings.
The Experience:
- Part 1: The Vision (Slide Show & Discussion): We’ll begin with a curated look at contemporary abstract masters—such as David Hockney, Amy Sillman, and Mark Bradford—exploring how they distill complex environments into powerful shapes, rhythms, and relationships.
- Part 2: The Process (Live Demo): Andrea will demonstrate techniques for “Extracting from Nature,” showing how to identify engaging shapes and “translate” the feeling of a place through edge play, value contrast, and color restraint. You’ll see how a simple architectural arch or a garden rhythm can become the “DNA” of a larger composition.
- Part 3: The Practice (Hands-On Exercises): Participants will practice some high-energy “loosening up” drills. You will practice “Shape Discovery” using both internal intuition and external prompts, creating a “Shape Lexicon” to use in your own future work.
Andrea Wedell is an internationally recognized fine artist and educator based in
Boulder County, CO.
Andrea is the daughter and grand-daughter of artists and architects. Growing up, she was surrounded by strong willed artists, and grew to hold beauty, balance and a commitment to art as the guiding forces in her own life.
When her grandfather, Alexander Stoller sold half of his land in the Berkshire mountains to cast one of his largest marble sculptures in bronze, it was acquired by the American Embassy in Paris.
Andrea attended the opening ceremony, and shortly after, captivated by the magnitude of culture available in Europe, uprooted from her native California and moved to Paris. The France adventure spanned 27 years before she moved back to her much loved California in 2013.
Andrea has a bachelor of Arts from UCLA, and while in Paris, she studied under acclaimed Beaux Art teachers Michele Massiou and Jacqueline Guillermain for over 10 years. She began exhibiting regularly at the Grand Marche d’Art Contemporain in Paris, before becoming a permanent artist with Galerie BE Espace also in Paris for 10 years.
Her work has been published by Les Editions Arcadia in France. In California, she was a featured artist at Toadfish Contemporary Gallery in Sausalito, has shown with Desta Gallery in San Anselmo and Mill-Valley, with Gray Loft Gallery in Oakland . She was a part of SFMoma Artist’s gallery in San Francisco.
Andrea’s personal WEbsite
Andrea’s Instagram
BAA Community Studio
Located in Wilderness Art Studios
2810 Wilderness Pl
Suite C
The Boulder Art Association is a 501 c (3) nonprofit organization in support of local artists offering community, education & opportunities for sharing & showing art