Nathan Motsinger

I grew up in the cornfields of the Mid-West in Southern Illinois and I always dreamt of being surrounded by the mountains. I’ve been living in Colorado for the past decade and am grateful to be surrounded by such beauty and adventure.

What drew me to creating? The inner workings of disease have always captured my attention. The passing of my best friend, Jason Harsy, led me to discover more about diseases and to recognize that there are still so many unknown areas when it comes to disease. These factors guide me into the artwork I am producing today. In every painting process, I learn more about myself and can reflect on the inner workings of life. With my visual map in mind, I am empowered to showcase my exploration of color and to share my expression of the unknown.  

 Unknown diseases are what took Jason's life. When I lost my best friend, I turned to painting to help me cope through this tragedy. When I begin the painting process, the canvas is like a white bill of health. I approach the painting like I am the disease. I come in as the disease and take over the healthy living organism by blending, bleeding, and overlapping multiple surfaces with both paint and collage. In this method, I am uncovering one idea after the other and reformatting life together as one new form. 

What I am left with is a painting that was once healthy and untouched, to a painting that has been lost, discovered, and explored with many layers of paint. Topographical lines help me navigate what is known and support me in understanding the unknown areas that I create. Every day that I am in the studio, I am figuring out a new piece to our beautifully simple, yet complex world.

Since the start of 2023, I have been pouring myself into my artwork and making it my full-time career. Through this process, I’ve unveiled a new style that exemplifies my newest endeavor.