Beauty and Grace: Nature Photography
by Lisa Aikenhead

January 11 – March 29, 2024

Artist Statement

Once, at a gallery in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Northern California, a young man came bounding downstairs after viewing my work. “I know what all of your work is about,” he said with enthusiasm. “What IS it about,” I asked him, curious to hear his thoughts, especially because I wasn’t so sure I knew what my own work was about in the first place! “It’s about love,” he said. “Your photography is all about love.” He was right, of course. The photographs in this show were made while standing on a beach at dawn in the Pacific Northwest, or shivering in the snow at Yellowstone National Park; while listening to birds in a New Zealand forest, or laughing at the playfulness of bear cubs in Alaska, and lion cubs in Kenya. I’ve photographed the rolling hills of the Palouse in Eastern Washington, the stunning landscapes of Iceland, and the magical woodlands and seascapes of Scotland. No matter where I am or what I’m photographing, though, the one consistent element in all of my work is love. I hope you feel some of the same things I do when witnessing the beauty and grace of the natural world: pure joy, delight, majesty, wildness, deep peace, and most of all, love. I truly enjoy sharing my photography with others, and when someone responds enthusiastically to one of my photographs, I feel like I’ve met a kindred spirit. To me, making that kind of connection with another person is one of the greatest privileges of being an artist.

Biography

Lisa Aikenhead is a wildlife, landscape, and architectural photographer living in Blaine, Washington.

Lisa Aikenhead’s work has been featured in galleries and juried shows throughout Northern California, and is in corporate and private collections across the United States and internationally.  Currently, Lisa’s photography is on display at Artwood Gallery in Fairhaven, Washington.  She has been juried into multiple shows at Jansen Art Center since relocating to Washington in 2021.  This is her first solo exhibition in Washington.

The 21st Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, a highly regarded international competition, announced in November 2023 that Lisa won first place in two professional categories: Landscapes & Seascapes (for her black and white image Ocean Sculptures), and Architecture & Interiors (a series of six abstract images from New York City).  Lisa’s winning images will be shown at Fotonostrum in Barcelona at the end of this year.    

PhotoPlace Gallery in Vermont also recently honored Lisa’s work, giving her the Director’s Award for her photograph Winter’s Portal in October 2023.  

Lisa prints her own photographs on a professional large-format printer, the Epson SC P7570. The P7570 utilizes UltraChrome Pro12 Ink, the finest archival pigment ink in the industry.  She uses archival, acid-free papers, and her photographs are matted and framed using only museum-quality materials.