Paula Keyth

Paula Keyth grew up in New York City. She also lived and studied art in the United Kingdom, San Francisco, Rome, and Portland, Oregon. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute and the Pacific Northwest College of Art, where she earned a B.F.A. degree. She currently works as a Peer Support Specialist and Recovery Mentor in the community of Sandy, Oregon. Drawing on her multifaceted experiences, including recovery, music, and her work as a peer, she aims to heal through the act of art-making.

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In this latest series, I create a cast of creatures that inhabit the dream realm through a combination of painting, drawing, and collage. These beings possess the ability to transcend our dystopian society and journey into the heart of nature, surrounded by a rich array of flora and fauna. In this liminal space, you can find hybrids, giants, animal spirits, and chimeras.

My work draws inspiration from fairy tales and mythology, as well as snippets I've collected over a lifetime of reading, traveling, and researching. The resulting images reflect my fears, hopes, and desires, offering a glimpse into the invisible world of spirits conveyed through a mythopoetic style. I present these stories from a female perspective, exploring my impressions and interpretations of the goddess spirit.

My creative process involves cutting images, shapes, and textures from magazines, assembling them, and then painting and drawing on top to create symbolic landscapes. This physical act of collaging and painting represents a dance between the overlapping worlds of nature, history, and myth. For me, art-making is a means to process grief and loss, helping one reconnect with the beauty of nature.

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