Gina Palmer is best known for B&W relief portraits of sheep, goats, pigs, and other fur-bearing creatures which inhabit her commercial work. Forging a commitment to linoleum early on, it’s grassroots appeal, boldness, and direct process fits her subjects. Collaborations with rural Hudson Valley farmers, flora and fauna inform and sustain her.

Frances Jetter and Frank Eckmair, inspiring artists-educators ignited conflicts early on. Eckmair, at Buffalo State was passionately invested in the rural landscape of Central New York, while School of Visual Arts study with Frances Jetter, taught her about advocacy and the power of illustration.

Finding a path between these directions has always challenged her. Teaching is an antidote to this struggle, illuminating pathways to contemporary processes and on-going conversations.

Recently, I have been exploring a more experimental approach to printmaking by combining bits of relief and gelatin images, with Tetra Pak intaglio, chine colle, and collage — while creating opportunities for chance occurrences, and happy accidents.

Many of my printing plates are made from re-cycled materials, and invoke a “wabi-sabi” approach, a concern for sustainability and a desire for simple, portable processes, that create space for serendipity.

Transparent dots, clouds, birds, flowers, seeds, garden and rural structures, repeat and re-combine, evoking past, present and future, while suggesting new paths. They are companion objects that function as my daily reminders to show up and be present, let go and dive deeper. Context evolves, narratives emerge, and current events loom, adding to the stories.

RECENT EXHIBITIONS/SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

8th Biennial Footprint International Exhibition, CCP Norwalk, CT 2022 Juried

Pressing Matters, Black & Blue Insert Challenge, Issue 18 (publication)

Bethany Arts Center - NYSATA REGION 7 October 2021, 2022

13th Biennial Miniature International Print Show, CCP Norwalk, CT 2021 Juried

Emerge Gallery 2021 - Juried

Tivoli Artists Gallery - Solo Spotlights 2021

Tivoli Artists Gallery - New Year/New Work 2021

Out of Isolation - The Firefly Artists 2020, Northport, NY - Juried

NYSATA Region 7 Annual Exhibitions 2016-2020

Hudson Valley Seed Library - Kingston, NY 2014 - Juried

Dear Mother Nature – Hudson Valley Artists 2012 The Samuel Dorsky Museum, Juried

Dutchess Community College Art Teachers Exhibition 2009

Marist College Annual Faculty Exhibitions 1996-2005

Print’s Best Letterheads and Cards, R.C. Publications 2000 Juried

Print Magazine Regional Design Annual 1996, 1997, 1998 Juried

Instagram: @ginapalmerillustrations

Email: ginapalmerillustrations@gmail.com

Website: ginapalmerillustrations.com