About the Artist
Winning numerous art awards throughout her school years, Bothne was set on an artistic path from a young age by teachers and mentors—often a recipe to peak early & fizzle out. She did in fact drop out of art school after a year, disillusioned by the instruction (or lack of) at the time.
After leaving college, her career path veered all over— real estate sales, retail management, disc jockey, —even driving a bus. Overtime, her desire to create art increasingly nagged from the ‘back burner.’
It wasn’t until she moved from Boston to Los Angeles around 2000 that she felt the need to get back to her true calling as a painter. Feeling she needed to make up for lost time, she was often the first to arrive each morning at the studio complex she shared with 30 other artists in Santa Monica.
“When you feel like you’ve put aside something important, something that fuels your soul, and you have the opportunity to re-engage, you become very conscious of time—the time you’ve lost, the time that’s left and the time it will take to get you to the place you feel you should be, or would’ve been, without all the ‘sidetracks,’” she explains.
She began with what she knew best—detailed realism in oils. But the need to insert imagination was apparent in her quirky early works as an adult. She found off-beat subject matter, trying to straddle the familiar and the enigmatic. As time passed she found more joy in loosening her hand and the work morphed into impressionism, and further into what she called her “squishy realism.”
But time spent searching for subject matter was just time stolen from her real passion, the practice of layering color on color and seeing the ever-changing results context provides. Around 2003 she had an epiphany–color should BE the subject matter.
Since that time, she’s created hundreds of vibrant abstract works that are her joyful expression of rekindling that spark. “I’ve come to the realization in my practice with abstract painting that being in the moment and being observant is key. You need to find the confidence to let go and let your passion for your materials guide you.”
Bothne relocated to New Mexico in 2013 and works from her studio in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque.
Exhibitions
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2020 “In Lieu Of Flowers” - Matrix Fine Art – Albuquerque, NM
2020 "Hanging Gardens" - Studio J Contemporary - Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM
2018 “Long Division Revisited” - Faust Gallery – Santa Fe, NM
2017 “Lucid Imaginings” - Studio J Contemporary– Los Ranchos, NM
2016 “Awash In Color” - Space at 500 4th – Albuquerque, NM
2016 “Enter/Exit” - Santa Fe Public Library – Santa Fe, NM
2016 “Upstaged” - Savoy Restaurant – Albuquerque, NM
2015 "Limitless Possibilities" - Popejoy Hall - Albuquerque, NM
2015 “Reboot” - Studio J Contemporary – Los Ranchos De Albuquerque, NM
2015 “Time & Tempo” - Bank Of The West Building – Albuquerque, NM
2014 “Vivid Summer” - Back Street Bistro – Santa Fe, NM
2013 “Finding Finished” - Palette Contemporary Gallery – Albuquerque, NM
2013 “Champagne Tastes” - Petrossian Boutique – W. Hollywood, CA
2013 “Dividing Lines” - Maison Décor Gallery – Provincetown, MA
2012 “Pleasure & Paint” - UBM Canon – Santa Monica, CA
2012 “Mixed Metaphors” - Maison Décor/Gallery – Provincetown, MA
2012 “Driving Force” - Artamo Gallery – Santa Barbara, CA
2011 “Color Commentary” - Maison Décor/Gallery – Provincetown, MA
2011 “Between Here & There” - Gallery Elyseé – Santa Fe, NM
2010 “At The Speed Of Color” - The Electric Lodge – Venice, CA
2010 “Devise & Evolve” - Brand Library Gallery – Glendale, CA
2010 “Stopping By Woods” - Translations Gallery – Denver, CA
2010 “Morsels” - Il Moro Restaurant – L.A., CA
2010 “Ebb & Flow” - Bayside Gallery – Newport Beach, CA
2010 “Beyond The Pale” - Palette Contemporary Gallery – Albuquerque, NM
2010 "Delicious Color" - Artamo Gallery – Santa Barbara, CA,
2009 “Divisions” - Gallery 14 – Sacramento, CA
2009 “Paint Interrupted” - TAG Gallery – Santa Monica, CA
2009 “Meditations” - Center For Physical Health – L.A., CA
2008 “Depth Perception” - Copperwood Artware – Orange, CA
2007 “Long Division” - Artamo Gallery – Santa Barbara, CA
2006 “Colorcopia” - ArtHouse Gallery – Santa Monica, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2023 “Land, Water, Sky" Open Space Visitor Center Gallery - Albuquerque, NM
2023 “Rock - Paper - Canvas" North Fourth Art Center - Albuquerque, NM
2022 "Triple Take Art Group- Inaugural Show" - Albuquerque, NM
2021 “Spinning Color & Texture: The Placitas Artist Series” Virtual Show - Placitas, NM
2020 "Flora & Fauna" Jen Tough Gallery - Virtual Show
2020 “Windows To The Future Project” - Vital Spaces - Santa Fe, NM
2019 “My Favorite Things” - Gallery 606 - Albuquerque, NM
2019 “Movers & Shakers” – NM Cancer Center - Albuquerque, NM
2018 “Variance” – Gloria Delson Contemporary - Los Angeles, CA
2017 “In The Mix” - Faust Gallery – Santa Fe, NM
2016 “No Woman Stands Alone III” – Copperwood Artware — Orange, CA
2016 “In Contrast II” – Artamo Gallery – Santa Barbara, CA
2016 “Incognito” – Santa Monica Museum Of Art - Santa Monica, CA
2015 “The Art Of The Flower” - New Mexico Art League – Albuquerque, NM
2015 “Pasadena Show House” – Pasadena, CA
2015 “Incognito” – Santa Monica Museum Of Art - Santa Monica, CA
2014 “Summer Mix” - Artamo Gallery – Santa Barbara, CA
2014 “The People’s Art Show” Factory on 5th Gallery – Albuquerque, NM
2014 “Incognito” – Santa Monica Museum Of Ar - Santa Monica, CA
2014 “Pasadena Show House” - Pasadena, CA
2013 "Color Full" Artamo Gallery – Santa Barbara, CA
2013 "Incognito" – Santa Monica Museum Of Art, Santa Monica, CA
2013 "Art Walk" Santa Monica Airport Studios – Santa Monica, CA
2013 "Spring Forward" - Hale ArtSpace – Santa Monica, CA
2012 "Contingencies" P.S. Zask Gallery – Palos Verdes, CA
2012 "No Woman Stands Alone II" - Copperwood Artware – Orange, CA
2012 "Art Walk" Santa Monica Airport Studios – Santa Monica, CA
2012 "Women Painters West at DSG" – Culver City, CA, Juried Show
2012 "Incognito" – Santa Monica Museum Of Art, Santa Monica, CA
2012 "Seeing Double" - Gallery Elyseé – Santa Fe, NM
2011 "Liminal Examinations" - P.S. Zask Gallery – Palos Verdes, CA
2011 "Montana Ave Art Walk" – Santa Monica, CA
2011 "Women Painters West at Encino Terrace" – Encino, CA, Juried Show
2011 "Habitat For Humanity @ Arena 1" – Santa Monica, CA, Juried Show
2011 "Mysteries & Dreamscapes" Keller Williams, Larchmont – L.A., CA
2011 "Shifting Perspectives" Happening Gallery – L.A., CA
2011 "My Own Backyard" Copperwood Artware – Orange, CA
2010 "Art Ulsan" – Ulsan, South Korea
2010 "Incognito" Santa Monica Museum Of Art - Santa Monica, CA
2010 "Chaos & Order" Arena 1 Gallery – Santa Monica, CA, Juried Show
2010 "Women Painters West - Juried Show" Orlando Gallery – Tarzana, CA
2010 “A-5 Project” Artamo Gallery – Santa Barbara, CA
2010 “No Woman Stands Alone I” Copperwood Artware – Orange, CA
2010 “The Topless Project” Artful International – Hollywood, CA
2010 “The Sketchbook Project” Art House Gallery – Atlanta, GA
2009 "Up & Away" Spring Arts Tower Gallery – L.A., CA
2009 "Incognito" – Santa Monica Museum Of Art, Santa Monica, CA
2009 "Urban Abstractions" Jeanie Madsen Gallery – Santa Monica, CA
2009 "Artamo Gallery – Santa Barbara, CA
2009 "Discoveries" Morton Street Gallery – Houston, TX
2009 "Women Painters West, Juried Show" Arena 1 Gallery – Santa Monica, CA
2009 "How Did We Get Here?" North Hangar Gallery – Santa Monica, CA
2008 "Members Only" Creative Arts Center – Burbank.CA, Juried Show
2008 "Emphasis Santa Monica" Barrett Gallery – Santa Monica
2008 "California Open" TAG Gallery – Santa Monica, CA,
2008 "Color Cast" - Artamo Gallery – Santa Barbara, CA
2008 "Incognito" – Santa Monica Museum Of Art, Santa Monica, CA
2008 "In Residence" Arena 1 Gallery – Santa Monica, CA
2007 "Greener House Project" – Mar Vista , CA
2007 "Women Painters West, Juried Show" VIVA Gallery – Sherman Oaks, CA
2007 "ArtWalk" Santa Monica Airport Studios - Santa Monica, CA
2007 "Undercurrents" Los Angeles Museum of Art – Sales & Rental Gallery - L.A., CA
ART FAIRS:
2023 "Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival" - Albuquerque, NM
2022 "Art Santa Fe" - Santa Fe, NM
2022 "The Other Art Fair" - Dallas - TX
2019 “ABQ Art Showcase” - Albuquerque, NM
2018 “Art Santa Fe” - Santa Fe, NM
2016 “Scottsdale Art Fair” - Scottsdale, AZ
2014 “Beverly Hills Art Show” - Beverly Hills, CA
2012 “Miami Solo” – Miami, FL