I explore natural realities that cannot be seen and do not have a form, such as fragrance, wind, and spirit.
With a background in sculpture, art educator Anita Horton moved her career overseas in 2013. She began painting and teaching art in international schools, living in both Istanbul, Turkey and Chennai, India. Anita loved traveling and experiencing various cultures of the world, which often became the subjects of her artwork.
The 2020 pandemic brought Horton back to Texas and the dominoes of loss started to fall: loss of career and money, and the loss of loved ones’ lives. Overtaken by grief, she began a daily walking routine and, in time, the beauty of nature caught her attention. For Horton, painting begins with curiosity. She began to notice how a plant will change its form from one day to the next. She observed how the change of seasons and weather affect nature’s bounty. Flowers, vegetation, skies, and grasses became the subjects of her paintings. Walking in nature quieted her anxiety and led her to reflect on gratitude and wonder.
In her recent bodies of work, Anita Horton explores natural realities that cannot be seen and do not have a form, such as fragrance, wind, and spirit. Her acrylic paintings of prairie grasses give life to the aromas and movement captured in bent stalks of grass during storms and sunshine. Influenced by faith, Horton works with recognizable forms and known environments as she expresses the mysteries of life through metaphor.