We are thrilled to collaborate with the Artists Association of Nantucket this year to feature their talented artist members. The AAN is a non-profit organization supporting Nantucket artists, providing educational programs in the arts, and preserving the legacy of Nantucket artists. Visit their website, their gallery at 19 Washington Street, their studio at 24 Amelia Drive, or give them a call at (508) 228-0294.

For the month of November we are pleased to feature Courtney Muller

Courtney Muller

Stillness, 2022

30”x 30”; oil with cold wax on canvas

2022 AAN Wet Paint Live Auction

As a marketing and communications professional, Courtney developed a niche practice of corporate communications for non-profit organizations. It was in this capacity where Courtney discovered her passion for art.

While developing a corporate communications strategy for a client, Courtney experienced writer’s block and, on the advice of an artist friend, began to work in watercolor and mixed media to unblock it. Transformation occurred. She discovered that her art did not bring her back to her writing; rather writing brought her to art.  Courtney’s newfound use of color, texture, and light replaced letters and words.

Self-Portrait, 2022

36”x 36”; Encaustic wax on 8 wood panels

Agora Gallery, Chelsea, NYC, September 2022

“Enchanted Earth and Other Worlds” Exhibition

Courtney’s art journey is a circuitous one; where the unexpected turns in her life as an artist mirror the surprisingly hidden twists in her studio process. “I never really know what will happen in my studio. As an encaustic artist, my process is non-linear, intuitive, and random. This keeps my work loose and unbound.  It is a process of inner-connection and inter-connection.”  

“Once I am standing in my studio, I surrender to the shift in emotion. As I begin to choose colors and mix it with wax, the painting’s story unfolds and I begin to write in my journal, which is always open next to my easel. Shifting, I go back to my painting. This cadence continues until the painting is finished. What emerges is art that is given context by the narrative; but is given life by the light, color, and texture. Encaustic wax is the perfect medium for me to communicate fluidity, texture, and luminosity. I know I am done when the boundaries between 2D and 3D are blurred.

Without a doubt, I am inspired by the universality of Nantucket’s light: in all its forms without buildings or terrain to change it.  It is as authentic a prism as I have ever seen. Nantucket’s light constantly makes my jaw drop.  The works shown here come close to capturing my elusive muse; especially in the City of Light, where Paris’ luminosity, aesthetic, and history connected me deeply to my process, my Nantucket roots, and all the artists who have gone before me. Paris gifted me an important reminder that art connects us all- to each other and to ourselves”.

Emerging, 2022

30”x 30”; oil with coldwax on canvas

PAKS Gallery, Vienna, Austria

Modern Art Masters in Complex du Louvre, Paris, October, 2022

Courtney is represented as an Artist Member of the Artist Association of Nantucket (AAN), Agora Gallery, Chelsea, NYC, and PAKS Gallery, Vienna, Austria. Courtney resides in Baltimore with her husband, Cliff, three children, Grace, Mac, and Caroline, and Sully, their golden retriever.