User:Na129060/Iris Scott

About
Iris Scott is an American contemporary artist and she specializes in painting. She is known for finger painting and is the first oil painting artist to exclusively dedicate her career to finger painting for as long as a decade. Born on May 26, 1984 in Maple Valley, Washington, Scott is a self-taught painter, but was encouraged by her father and mother, who had their own careers, that practice makes perfect. Scott's father was an artist and he specializes in handmade cabinetry. Iris's mother is a piano teacher. From a young age, Scott was praised by her teachers and classmates for the drawings she had made. Scott grew up listening to her mother tell stories about animals and their pets and gradually got inspiration from those stories and made paintings of animals and many other things. After studying in Florence, Italy for her junior year of college, Scott moved and lived in a small apartment with a view of a rainforest outside of Kaohsiung, Taiwan where she launched her career. She then moved to Seattle and then Brooklyn, New York. Scott now lives in New Mexico getting inspiration. She has a large number of followers on both Instagram and Facebook today.

Education
Scott graduated from Tahoma Senior High School in 2002 and then went on to attend Washington State University where she received her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree. Her junior year was spent at a small art academy in Florence, Italy called Accademia Italiana. Scott also obtained her Masters in Teaching K-8 in 2009 from Western Governors University.

Career
Scott is an American contemporary painter and she specializes in finger painting. "I first became well known for the painting Shakin' Off the Blues of a wet English Labrador shaking the water droplets off after a swim." She likes finding new ways to make paintings using anything but a paint brush. She has written a "How To" book and has made a YouTube channel showing many people how to finger paint. Her works are up on many websites as well as her own website. Scott is working on new ways to create beautiful pieces and has recently discovered a technique using an air compressor to blow out paint in many directions as shown in her recent photos on Instagram. Scott continues to create works today and has had many exhibitions and is represented by two galleries, Filo Sofi Arts and Adelman Contemporary. Scott had her first solo show in 2018 in New York City. "To date, Scott has made nearly 500 finger paintings".

Process
At first, Scott used brushes to paint, but one day she did not want to clean her brushes and started using her fingers. Her audience seemed to be more interested in her finger paintings, so Scott threw her brushes away. “Rather than relying on paintbrushes and palette knives, Scott takes a tactile approach, using paint-covered latex gloves to spread gobs of pigment across the canvas. In other words, the effect she achieves is thanks to finger painting” states Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 2019. Scott uses the paint brand Holbein for her paintings and she specifically uses duo aqua oil paints. The duo aqua paints make it easier for Scott to create a base for her paintings as a starting point and it also is an easier way to get the splash marks on the "Shaking Dog" paintings. Scott likes to mix and rub paint on her canvases before she starts making her works because she does not like to start on a white canvas. Before her ideas come to life, Scott does many steps like, "photoshop, image research, math, and science", before creating to make sure she gets the outcome she wants.

Solo Exhibitions
2021: Iris Scott: Shakin' Off the Blues, Burnet Fine Art & Advisory

2020: Iris Scott: The Big Wonderful, Filo Sofi Arts

2019: Iris Scott: Ritual in Pairing, Filo Sofi Arts

2018: Iris Scott: The Door is Ajar, Mind the Cat, Filo Sofi Arts

2017: Finger Painter Iris Scott Solo Show, Adelman Fine Art

Group Exhibitions
2021: Shrine to Beauty, Filo Sofi Arts

2020: Fresh: A Summer Selection, Burnet Fine Art & Advisory

2018: Flora & Fauna, Adelman Fine Art

2017: #artyouenJOY, Adelman Fine Art; Blue Me Away and Summer Small Works Show, Adelman Fine Art; Adelman Fine Art 2nd Anniversary Show, Adelman Fine Art

More Reads
Here, you will find articles mentioning Iris Scott. Many articles were written about her and her finger painting journey. https://www.irisscottfineart.com/press

Scott's book and YouTube where she digs in deep about her processes and explains to beginners how to paint and how to do each stroke with a finger, https://www.irisscottfineart.com/book