"Growing up in the Great Lakes Region, water has always been a powerful symbol for me. It is intimately connected with the passage of time...of stability and change. Most of my current paintings do not reference the surrounding land. They focus on light, texture, shape and movement of water. Without a horizon line viewers are encouraged to meditate on the water; projecting themselves into the painting. I've examined a wide variety of media and concepts, but consistently line and wash and watercolor are the most beautiful to my eye." Most of Arntson's paintings of water do not reference the surrounding land. Instead they focus on light, texture, shape and movement. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel critic James Auer wrote: “Arntson in my eyes, is a phenomenon. Her watercolor paintings of wave patterns are at once expressionistic and photo-realistic. You'd swear they were color slides but they aren't. Simultaneously abstract and precise, they testify to water's regenerative role in the life cycle. They play wonderfully on the differences and similarities of photography and painting.” Arntson is a Emerita Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Her lectures and presentations have spanned the globe. Now a full time artist and author, her paintings of water surfaces evolved from a life-long association with the Great Lakes Region. Her current work also includes various national and international waters. ... Influences on my work range from wash drawings of the 17th century illuminists who addressed the relationship between landscape and the expression of feeling, to an array of 20th century abstract artwork. Abstract color, shape and texture are an underpinning to all my realistic paintings, as are a sense of place and time, and related emotions. The work is created from sketches and photographs of locations I visit. Like a family member or a friend; a beach, a body of water can merit having it's portrait painted. http://www.amyarntson.net/ undefined

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