steve mchugh art - abstract artist

My work is about the landscape of Madeline Island and Lake Superior, but I’m not trying to mimic the land and sea, not duplicate it.  I’m trying to remember though paint and marks, what I feel here.  Not only what I’m seeing, but the smells, the sounds, the feeling of the wind in my face, collecting drift wood, beach glass, basalt stones, touching moss and birch bark.

 

 My work is about those fleeting moments of sensory input, how it makes me feel, that emotional pull to the Island and it’s unique energy. This location has captured my heart, regardless of where I find myself, I’m still painting what I call “Home”.  For those who have discovered Madeline and Lake Superior, you know how it infects your mind, and has a magnetic attraction that keeps pulling you back. This Island, which lies along the “North Coast” of the U.S., is surrounded by a sea of blue-green, deep and clean waters. It’s an area carved out by glaciers and is constantly changing. 

 

The light excites me and is why I got off the ferry and didn’t ever want to leave. It’s the weather and ever changing sea, the great unknown.  The wild northeasters, huge seas chewing up the land and the driving winds that dance through the trees. It’s the spring with the return of the sandhill cranes, followed by the blooms of the purple lupines and the moisture that just hangs in the air. It’s these experiences that inspire me year after year. 

 

My paintings do not portray a single day, but the accumulated experiences that drive me to keep painting—with no shortage of inspiration. These experiences spill out in the studio, from where I do not know, except maybe my heart; it’s these fragments of sensory experiences that I attempt to portray.

 

This upcoming season it’s all about showing  these new abstract creations; paintings, photography, ceramics, greeting cards to tiny works and sculptures has me excited to share with visitors and past collectors. Made on Madeline Island.