Victoria Raymond

Victoria Raymond

Artist Statement

I am inspired by the natural world around me, its shapes, colors and shifting light. I make paintings in my garden to capture the array of flowers, stems and leaves. After the paint is dry, I employ a gouache ink resist technique,brushing black India ink over the painting. With a final rinse, the ink and paint slide off and a new painting emerges. While I leave some paintings whole, I often cut or use a craft punch to create floral shapes, then recompose their elements into collages. These techniques and processes of layering and discovering unexpected results echo my experience of the endless variations and abundance of plant life. My intention with this work is to celebrate the vibrancy of the Pacific Northwest.

Biography

For more than a decade Victoria Raymond lived in New York City, creating three-dimensional illustrations for children’s books and editorial publications. Two of her books, Brown Cow, Green Grass, Yellow Mellow Sun, and Bumble Bee, are in the permanent collection at the Mazza Museum: International Art from Picture Books.

Victoria moved back to Seattle and transitioned to making contemporary art. This new work is inspired by the diversity and beauty found in nature, and the vibrant flowers she grows in her garden.

resume

Education

  • Art Center College of Design, B.F.A. - Pasadena, CA, 1989

  • Western Washington University - Bellingham, WA, 1982

Professional Organizations

  • Northwest Collage Society, WA, 2023

  • Woodinville Arts Alliance, Woodinville, WA 2022 – 2023

  • CoCA Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA. 2020 – 2022

  • EDGE Professional Development Program, Artist Trust - Seattle, WA, 2009

Select Exhibition History

  • Away We Go, Fogue Gallery, Seattle, WA (March - April 2023)

  • Sip & Stroll Artwalk, Molbak’s Garden + Home, Woodinville, WA (Oct. 2022)

  • For the Joy of It, The Gardens at Town Square, Seattle, WA (April - Aug. 2021)

  • Sheltering In the Studio; Art Made During the Pandemic, University House, Wallingford, Seattle, WA (Nov. - Feb. 2021)

  • Earth, Wind and Fire, Ida Culver House Broadview, Seattle, WA (Nov - Feb. 2021)

  • 20/20 Vision, CoCA - Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA (March - May 2020)

  • NW Mystics 2019: Women of the PNW, CoCA - Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA (Dec. 2019)

  • Art of the Garden, Schack Art Center, Everett, WA (June - Aug. 2019)

  • Motherland, CoCA - Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA (March – April 2019)

  • Arts at the Port, the annual Juried Fine Art Exhibition , Anacortes, WA (Aug. 2020)

  • Natural Instincts, Aljoya Mercer Island, Seattle, WA (April – Aug. 2018)

  • Members Show, artEAST, Issaquah, WA (Nov. - Jan. 2017)

  • Color Your World, Aljoya Mercer Island, Seattle, WA (April - Sept. 2017)

  • Art of the Garden, Best in Show, Schack Art Center, Everett, WA (June - Sept 2017)

  • Ordinary to the Extra Extraordinary, Ida Culver House Broadview, Seattle, WA (May - Sept. 2017)

  • With Flying Colors, The Gardens at Town Square, Bellevue, WA (Feb. - May 2017)

  • The Incredible Intensity of Just being Human, Swedish Hospital, Issaquah, WA (April - July 2016)

  • CoCA Annual Members Show, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA (April - May 2016)

  • Quotidian, ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, Seattle, WA (2012)

Children’s Book 3D Illustrations

  • “What’s in my Lunchbox?”, Harper Collins Children’s Books, NYC (2001)

  • “Oreo Cookie Counting Book”, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, NYC (2000)

  • “Bumble Bee”, Harper Collins Children’s Books, NYC (1999)

  • “Still-Life Stew”, Hyperion Books for Children, NYC (1998)

  • “Brown Cow, Green Grass, Yellow Mellow Sun”, Hyperion Books, NYC (1995)

Selected News Papers, Magazines, and Education Publishers

The New York Times, Sesame Street Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Disney Adventures Magazine, McMillan-Magraw Hill Publishing, Houghton Mifflin Company, Harcourt Brace School Publishers, Scholastic Inc.

Selected Collections

  • The Mazza Museum International Art from Picture Books - Findlay, Ohio.

  • University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum is the world’s largest collection of original artwork by children’s book illustrators. The Museum’s goal is to promote literacy and enrich the lives of all people through the art of picture books