“My struggles with art have been many over my lifetime, but I never seem to struggle with what to paint. Looking about me, in this Iowa landscape, are neverending variations of landforms touched by ever changing seasonal light. God makes hundreds of beautiful moments every day, each a painting waiting to be captured. So I go outside and there I paint the Loess Hills and Missouri River Valley lying at my doorstep. I paint what I see before me, but every painting takes into account all of my life’s experience too. I may ‘see’ a hillside as gold and burnt sienna, but I also ‘know’ this same hill is covered in Little Bluestem and Sideoats Gramma.  It seems to me that this synthesis between the naturalist and artist gives my work an authenticity of someone who loves this land and has spent some time out in it.”

As much as she loves to paint the landscape, she is also drawn to the still life. “I am very much an old-fashioned homebody. I find comfort and familiarity in canning jars, sewing tools,  and other objects of the self-reliant housewife of yesteryear.”  These she renders in thoughtful detail, concentrating on light and texture.

“I still feel like I’m looking for my niche, but having a hard time settling down to one genre. In nature, monocultures are so much less healthy than diversity. Perhaps that is why I find myself constantly drawn to so many different subjects, to keep a healthy diversity in my art.”

Other subjects of great interest and inspiration are her garden, home, antiques, and travel. Pam also paints murals and will do artwork on commission.

Some Thoughts On Plein Air | read
The Loess Hills | read