Artist Statement

It has been said that everything an artist does is a self-portrait; perhaps it is the summation of one’s life experiences. Throughout my artistic career, I have explored the many variations on a particular theme by working in series.

In the current series of mixed media drawings entitled “Four and Twenty, I chose the image of a bird. There was something elegant, poetic and lyrical in that flattened form on the asphalt road that encouraged me to take a closer look. I was asked once if I still painted “roadkill” and I have to admit that I do. I have taken the idea of that image and twisted it this way and that way; magnifying and amplifying it; changing the medium; employing additive as well as subtractive drawing techniques much like those used in the printmaking process; reconstructing and deconstructing it until I’ve come full circle.

I started collecting bird’s nests when the wind blew one out of a tree in my backyard. The “Nests Series” has become a companion series to “Four and Twenty.” I chose to work in acrylic paint on canvas, combining some collage in the process. To me the bird’s nest is both a dwelling and a vessel. I am fascinated by its construction and the variety of materials used: such as twigs, leaves, moss, hair, feathers, grasses, twine, plastic, cotton boles, mud and fiber intertwined and woven together. Some nests are delicate and refined while others are crude and poorly crafted, but all are functional and serve the purpose. Some of my bird’s nest paintings are straightforward, while others are reduced to a simple form, bordering upon abstraction.

I believe the only constant in life is change. Working as I do in a series, affords me the opportunity to grow and evolve as an artist.

Artist Bio

George Ann McCullough is a mixed media artist, residing in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. She has degrees in art, art education, and advanced studies from Texas Lutheran University, University of Houston, and Arrowmont School of Crafts respectively. Ms. McCullough is a Mississippi Arts Commission Grant Recipient. She is an active member of the Mississippi Art Colony and has attended Tougaloo Art Colony. She is a charter member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, as well as an artist member of the Mississippi State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, having been recognized as Honored Artist for 2015. Her work has won numerous awards, and has been included in regional, national and international exhibitions. Her paintings are included in the permanent collection of the Meridian Museum of Art, and the Kenneth Quinn Collection, Mississippi College. She was one of the spotlighted artists at The Five Senses of Ohr: A Party For Your Senses in 2019.