Miro FitzGerald
Brushstroke
Miro FitzGerald creates abstract acrylic Color Field paintings composed of myriad small, horizontal brush strokes creating a tableau of repetition and visual motion on a background of spatial geometry. "I wish to express motion and depth by the repetition of one entity - the brushstroke. I began creating the Brushstroke style in 1975 after receiving my MFA from the University of Washington. The first paintings were actually created on a roof top in Kathmandu, Nepal. My paintings range in size from very small up to 8 feet or more and are composed of a myriad of precise overlapping hand painted brush strokes. Some of the larger paintings have over 5,000 brushstrokes. There is an aspect of Pointillism in these paintings, perhaps liken more to a contemporary "Digital Pointillism".
Landscape
My Landscape Paintings are compositions of freedom and motion to express the magnificent colors of the Southwest, the drama of approaching storms and monsoon's as well as the majestic Red Rock formations of Sedona and the SW. Gestural palette knife, brush and occasional collage serve as a contrast of freedom to the precise painting style of the brushstrokes.
Miro's parents were well established artists in the NW. Her father, the late James FitzGerald, created bronze fountains commissioned by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect who designed the first World Trade Center. The late Margaret Tomkins and "Northwest Visionary" was an acclaimed and outspoken abstract painter from the 30's who's history was recorded by the Smithsonian Institution. Miro was named after the male Spanish Artist, Joan Miro. She traveled (during more peaceful times) throughout Europe, Greece, Iran, Afghanistan, India, overland from Belgium to Nepal and more recently with her family to Australia and China. She and her late husband, William Watson, retired Special Forces and master potter, owned Watson-FitzGerald Studios, LLC and reside in Sedona, AZ since 1999.
Miro’s background includes a BFA and MFA in Painting from the University of Washington Seattle, WA. She received Full Fellowships in painting to: The San Francisco Art Institute, CA; One year Max Beckmann Memorial Grant to the Brooklyn Museum School (NYC); Painting Fellowship to the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, MA; Artist in Residency to the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH and Fellowship to the Yale Summer Arts Program, CT. Miro's work is represented in numerous private and public collections throughout the US.