Plateaus and plains, forested mountains, and lakes surrounded by lush vegetation are just some of the sights found in the artworks of Phyllis Shafer. This American artist devoted her life to capturing the beauty of the American West in plen-air paintings that found their homes in reputable art galleries and museums across the United States.
Shafer has been engaged in various art media and styles throughout her career, but the focal part of her creative endeavor has always been the natural environment. She believes that “a kind of transcendental essence lies at the heart of all natural forms and objects” and aims to capture this essence through her paintings.
For Shafer, the best way to fully capture all the intricacies that can be found in the natural environment is plein-air. She packs her painting supplies and embarks into the wilderness around her home near Lake Tahoe in search of a perfect scene. Once she finds it, she doesn’t rest before it is captured on canvas.
“My method is to paint directly from the natural environment,” Shafer explains in her artist’s statement. “This allows me to study my subject in its rawest incarnation and to better perceive and record the particular idiosyncrasies and beauty of the natural form.”
Continue scrolling to check out more of Shafer’s paintings below.
