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Ledbetter, Jeri Darien Gap Oil and graphite on panel 40 x 40 inches

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Jeri Ledbetter

Artist’s Statement. Living on the Mississippi River, I find nature’s oddities compelling and inspiring. I see man-made structures, a fence, a barge, the cobble stones, all striving for survival with water, wind and vines. And time.

The contrast of, and interplay between, industry and nature are of great interest to me as an artist. When working, I cast about for the accidental, for surprises and often my labor is a scouring from low to high or from the bottom up, I find.

Rather than paint a realistic landscape or figure, for example, I let paint and pencil, instruments cast from natural objects by industry, paint the surface, much like wind and water toil against the works of man, i.e., by slow erosion, accretion and erasure.

I let the involuntary or free hand not be unduly controlled by my plan or scheme, allowing for the blessing of the unexpected line or stroke. In sum, what I do is like digging for clams on the seashore. When it works and I hear the rattle of the shells in my bucket, I smile.