Pam Holnback - Above & Beyond

Pam Holnback - Above and Beyond, Inspirations from our local color

Light and color are the focus of what I capture in my oil paintings of the sky. The sky constantly changes, offering unique moments where light and color interact in fascinating ways. In my paintings, I aim to capture the fleeting nature of these moments, where light transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. I use light and color as a way to express the emotions and sensations that I see in the sky. Light plays a key role in my color choice.

Whether it’s the soft glow of dawn or the warm, fading sky at sunset, light transforms the sky. I strive to capture that transformation in my paintings. I hope that my art does more than just show the sky—I want it to make the viewer feel the vastness and beauty of our western sky.

One of my goals in this exhibit was that through my use of light and color I created a sense of wonder and contemplation, to remind us of the beauty above. An additional goal was to abstract the light, color and shapes of the sky into pure emotion and form. I hoped to express the mood and atmosphere of a moment rather than its exact appearance. In abstracting the sky, I hope to invite the viewer to experience the vastness and intensity of nature in a new way. The small abstract paintings are less about depicting the sky as it is and more about conveying the feelings it inspires. Through these abstracts I found the unrestrained joys of color in motion.

Art and creativity have been Pam’s passions since childhood. She was fortunate to have grown up in a home where creativity was part of the every day life. She began art lessons in Kindergarten. In 3rd grade Pam won First Place in the local Easter egg decorating contest. Her love of art continued and ultimately led to a major in Art Education at the University of Northern Colorado. Pam also received a Master’s of Art at UCCS. During and after college she spent six years studying, traveling and teaching overseas. These travels led her to spend two years each in Europe, the Middle East and South America. She spent several decades as an art teacher in Colorado Springs District 11.

Coming from a valuable art education background, now, as an oil painter, she realizes that the years of teaching art and talking daily about the principles of art and elements of design are basic in the initial drawing and development of each painting. Pam’s love of the out-of-doors and the west is expressed in her many landscapes and skyscapes, done both plein air and in the studio. Pam has been juried into many local, state and national exhibitions. She is a member of Plein Air Artists of Colorado, Women Artists of the West, and Garden Artists.