About Me
My name’s Abbey, and I’m the abstract artist behind Snowpinecone Studio. I have a humble bedroom studio in the corner of my room and love making art! I paint because it’s my way of unlocking the anxieties and hopes inside of me and trying to bring it into the world. I adore the intersection of color and texture and spend a lot of time trying to crystallize my feelings as a moment in time on the canvas. Every time I create I am untangling the heartstrings to discover more about myself.
The name Snowpinecone Studio is a way of keeping my grandmother close to my heart. I grew up in northern Wisconsin, and during the winter she would sit at the kitchen table with her black coffee and crosswords. She would admire the way the heavy snow weighed the branches of the pine trees outside our home. It was beautiful and serene, and I loved sitting and sharing those quiet moments with her. My grandmother was my best friend and the first person in my life who loved and encouraged my artistic passion. Everything I brought home from my art classes, she displayed.
I discovered Photoshop in high school, and fell in love with graphic design because I loved learning how to use technology to create shapes and designs, and use filters to help create unique collages. I was sure I was going to go to art school and pursue the digital arts, but my heart and mind had other plans, and I drifted away from art for many years.
In 2015, I was severely depressed and between jobs. I felt unmoored and tired. I had been re-reading Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones to try and help spark the motivation to write again. She spoke often of how helpful it was to have a beginner’s mindset, because that’s when you didn’t know what the rules were, so you could free yourself without worrying about doing something wrong. I knew I needed to open my heart again with something fresh, so I bought a pack of craft paint for $10 and a few canvas boards. It was exhilarating and incredible to be able to feel something—especially beauty and joy—after being depressed for so long.
I paint because it makes me feel alive and present in the moment. It’s a precious thing to feel such a connection to myself and what I am making. My creative journey started with abstract expressionism—my first and forever love—but these days I’m trying different styles and techniques: acrylic pours on canvas, terracotta, and soon, wood and glass. I’m dabbling more in mixed media and I have been practicing digital painting with my Wacom tablet and Photoshop.
I’ve made so much art in the last 5 years and even sold enough to afford the tools I need to keep on creating. I have such undying love and gratitude to everyone who has shown me support over the years. I appreciate you visiting my website or saying hello on social media and hope that you find some moment of connection, joy or curiosity when you see my work.
When I’m not painting I am often thinking and talking about about sci-fi TV/literature, making fan video tributes or playing video games. I’ve also become a plant person and have killed so many plants but managed to keep 30 plants alive for several months now!
A few random tidbits:
• I adore carbonated beverages (the bubbles!).
• I’m a huge fan of 90s video games (Sonic4evah! Final Fantasy VII is my heart!)
• I stopped caring about wearing matching socks.
• I love cheese and my favorite kind depends on my mood but my go-to is night cheese.
ABSTRACT ART
An ode to a canvas, the heart, and the spaces in between
ACRYLIC POUR
I love how fluid art expresses itself in unique ways with swirls of paint. It’s a slow moving dance of color and a test of patience and an exhilarating roller coaster at the same time while waiting to see how the the painting unfolds!
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
The process of intuitive painting is different for everyone. I love it because it’s like trying to capture ephemeral feelings of anxiety or curiosity, joy and sadness.
MIXED MEDIA & DIGITAL ART
Painting and collage on canvas boards is such a wonderful and tactile experience that brings me back to my childhood. Creating digital art with Photoshop and my Wacom tablet is such a thrill to transfer my artistic skills to a techy medium while also trying to adapt my techy brain to an artistic vision.