Rolinda Stotts grew up on a dairy farm working with animals and earth, growing crops and building fences, learning to nurture life and respect nature. This is where her life as an artist began.
The lessons of balance and harmony that she learned on the farm are invaluable in expressing her feelings and experiences on canvas. Some of her subject matter comes from early childhood experiences on the farm, but still more comes from her life with her children. She loves seeing the world simplified through their eyes.

Her paintings are more of an essence of nature, not a literal representation of it. A strand of aspens stirs an emotion inside of her that she is trying to capture on canvas. You will notice a lot of familial references in the titles of her paintings like “Three Sisters, “Protecting the Little One,” and “Family of Five.” This is no accident. In order to replicate the effect of extreme age and texture, Rolinda created a process called Bella Rotta – beautiful broken. Using a complex ten-step process allows Rolinda to manipulate her work, and evolve it to the essence of having survived centuries. She starts with making her own canvas. Once the canvas has been properly prepared, she is ready to paint using hand mixed oils.
Oils imbue a depth of richness in the color, and when carefully overlaid, will convey a mood in the art. Rolinda’s layering of color builds an effect unlike newly created art. She is sharing the mystery and emotion of the deep heritage she feels while working. The emotion of each work overtakes her and she speaks through her art. In Rolinda’s art, the cracks are real, it is not a “crackle finish,” and she encourages people to touch and feel the work. Most people are drawn to the tactile nature of the painting and she wants to engage the sense of touch.
Throughout the entire painting process, she uses her hands to gently age the new image. Then, Rolinda adheres the painting to a self-constructed wooden frame. She wants the images to look as if you found an ancient fresco somewhere, and found a way to bring it home. Rolinda continues adding oil paint in very thin applications or with a bold palette knife depending upon how the moment takes her as the image becomes alive within her.
“In my paintings I want there to be an element of imperfection. Imperfect things give way to grace and a sense of freedom. Only through this freedom can we attain a sense of calm. I want to feel that calm myself. That’s why I paint.”