“I paint from direct observation and memory because it allows me a genuine relationship with my subject. The painting, subject, and I are all conditioned to the same effects of cold, changing light, and unexpected events: a gust of wind, bird movements, animal sounds. In the field, there is a vitality. Much concentration is needed; at times the work is arduous, and other times, language leaves me and I feel I disappear.

”In This Light was painted in our backyard in late February, in the early evening. The piece invites quiet thoughts that hover between offering and receiving, light and darkness, the known and the unknown. The paint quality echoes these motifs, with thin veils and heavy impasto, loose gesture, and measured edges. Mysteriously, the painting equally states, ‘I am gloves, a plate, and quiet light on the snow,’ and simultaneously says, ‘I am scumbles and veils of paint.’ Somehow, the human mind grasps this mystery: suspending the viewer between the reality that is there and the reality that is not.”

Moran-Handzlik earned a Bachelors of Art from St. Norbert College, and an MFA from University of Wisconsin. She taught for over 25 years at colleges and universities, including Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY and University of Wisconsin System campuses. She has returned to painting full time and has been awarded residencies, fellowships, grants and awards for her work. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, the poet Patrick J. Moran, and together they have three wonderful children and a sweet dog, Windzy.