Mimo Gordon Riley

Mimo Gordon Riley’s paintings, while diverse in subject matter, are all characterized by her unusual sense of color: purple trees, yellow skies, turquoise pears, and orange water lines are the signatures of her work.  The content, though important, serves as a backdrop for other concerns – dividing space, enhancing light, and reinventing the obvious.

“Making art is a gift, and a demon.  To me it is a privilege that I indulge in without excuse.  It is work; it is play; it takes over my quiet time and my active time.  It is my job, but I don’t punch a time clock or gather with colleagues to discuss solutions.  I rely on myself to find the inspiration and set the scheduling, which can be very freeing and very dangerously open to distraction.   There are days I want to quit, and days I cannot imagine that…ever.

Most of what I paint is based in nature.  When I see something that interests me, it’s like a flash bulb going off.  An adrenalin rush.  I immediately translate it into colors and shapes which get stored away for future reference.  I cannot predict if what I paint will look like what I see or will be transformed into something related but totally different.”

Mimo lives and works in Rhode Island, and spends her summers in Tenants Harbor, Maine, where she is a member of a vibrant arts family.

She followed an early career in photography, but while earning her BFA at the Maine College of Art, she realized she wanted to paint. Mimo exhibits widely throughout the Northeast.

Website: mimogordonriley.com