Alina Welch (b.1987) lives and works in Southern California.

“As a painter, my practice is rooted in remaining fluidly connected to the moment. Moving quickly and without thought, I am forced to use my intuition and rely on a deeper sense of balance that I have observed in nature and seems to be coded somewhere in my soul. I move from one mark to the next with no plan, following subtle instinctual cues and trusting my visual vocabulary to communicate the fundamental uncontrollability of nature.

I prepare the surfaces I work on with layers of paint, washing, rinsing, and drying until I achieve a soft hand feel. This method allows the fabrics to pull the liquid paint into them and discourage any hard edges. Imperfection and simplicity guide me and my approach is rather impulsive.

When creating stitch works, I am interested in the methodical repetition of hand stitching and the natural variations that occur through this meditation-like practice. I start with sketching compositions that represent the essence of a feeling or experience. I then use thread as the expression of the ideas that take form because it imbues the pieces with timeless permanence.