Residing in the picturesque landscapes of Utah, conceptual artist Bridgette Meinhold finds inspiration in the rugged, atmospheric beauty that surrounds her. Her work, a fusion of visual and written creativity and the ethereal allure of nature, aims to capture the spirit of the Mountain West.
Meinhold’s artistic expression creates a powerful connection between creativity and the natural world. Her work reflects not only her painting talents but also an intimate understanding of the landscapes that unfold around her and the natural elements that make a location unique only to itself.
Visual Expressions
One can trace the threads of Meinhold’s artistic tapestry through various mediums. From intricate watercolors to encaustics and through teaching workshops and writing, nature, with its ever-changing hues and textures, serves as both her muse and her canvas. Her ability to capture the essence of the wilderness echoes the snow in the mountains, the red rock hues, and the flora and fauna of Utah and beyond.
Bringing new appreciation to the simplicity and beauty of the natural realm, Meinhold’s work beckons viewers to immerse themselves in the subtle dance of light and the delicate play of shadows on a forest of trees. “Encaustic acts the part of the atmosphere, creating depth, space, and time in which to create my ethereal landscapes,” Meinhold explains. “I work from memory and my photographs as a way to preserve moments in wax.” Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. The molten mix is then applied to the artistic surface.
Beyond her painting prowess, Meinhold is also a gifted storyteller. Each stroke of her brush narrates a tale of the landscape. “I like to explore projects that are outside the bounds of normal art that you would buy and hang on a wall in a home,” she says. Her pieces, particularly the encaustics, are not just art; they are windows into the soul of the West’s landscapes, capturing the essence of its deserts, mountains, and canyons.
King Con Ore Bin
After a restoration project restored the only remaining structure from the King Con Mine, which was located on what is now the Claim Jumper run at Park City Mountain Resort, Meinhold received a commission from Park City to commemorate its historic preservation.
“I spent this whole summer gaining inspiration from this defunct bit of mining history to create a work of art for the 2023 Annual Cindy Matsumoto Historic Preservation Award,” recalls Meinhold. “Surrounding the Ore Bin is a wild and beautiful location filled with flowers, plants, trees, and animals that have maintained their presence throughout the evolution of this town. The area around it is still teeming with life.”
Unfortunately, an ore bin looks a bit like a wooden box on stilts so rather than a painting of the bin, she began a project to forage for plants and materials within view of the site to make natural inks for the final paintings. These living inks—in total approximately 20—came from flowers, pinecones, mushrooms, lichens, rusty bits of metal, copper wire, plaster, charcoal, and more, and made up her palette for the finished paintings submitted to the committee for final selection.
Her summer-long project included regular hikes to forage before her artistic endeavors could begin. “The hike out and back to the Ore Bin was around three hours round trip, plus time for foraging, painting, and discovering,” she explains. “Learning about the history of the place seemed just as important to me as the inks and the art.” She was eventually delighted to find a pale pink Yarrow in the wild which makes a completely different colored ink than white Yarrow.
“My work creating living inks from foraged plants and matter will be used to preserve the beauty of this site through the colors found there. I love making and working with these handmade living inks, because it’s a way to create art with the help of nature.”
The Park City Preservation Planning Board considered all 21 paintings to decide which one best celebrated the preservation of the King Con Ore Bin. The painting will hang in City Hall in 2024.
View Her Work
In addition to City Hall, you’ll find an ever-changing collection of Meinhold’s work at Gallery MAR on Park City’s Main Street as well as galleries in Jackson Hole, Durango, and in the Sundance catalog.
Her works leave an indelible mark on those who witness her creations, offering respite via a visual journey into the heart of Utah’s wild landscapes. Meinhold is not just an artist; she is a champion of Utah’s untamed spirit, weaving its essence into every stroke of her brush.