by Sara Bruskin
Santa Fe artist Brigitte Brüggemann lets color and intuition guide her paintings
NO SKETCHES or conceptual plans precede Brigitte Brüggemann’s abstract paintings. She starts by building a wooden frame and stretching her own canvas, a process she describes as meditative—a ritual to get her in the right mindset to face that white expanse of primed fabric.
Then, the paint guides her. “I start with color and how I feel that day,” she says. “I look at my tubes of paint, and I’ll pick three, four or five to start. It always changes. Sometimes, when I’m not feeling so great, I try to use my painting as an escape by choosing the colors that would be uplifting and bring light into my heart and life.”
In a style she calls “organic lyrical abstraction,” Brüggemann creates layers of color and movement inspired by life and nature. While her gestural brushstrokes often create soft, rippling fields of color, she sometimes uses bolder strokes to create more energetic, assertive pieces. The different hues also contribute to a feeling of depth and movement, she explains, as warm colors like red appear to come forward in a painting while cooler colors like blue will recede.
“It’s important to step back and have this conversation with the canvas and see what it needs—what it tells me that I need to do,” she says. “Over time, the painting will sort of unfold to this point where I can ask what it is about, and hopefully, it will tell me. Then I can add the last elements to give it a little more focus.” Those additions could include brushstrokes suggesting a branch moving in the wind, a flower in bloom or reflections of light on a body of water.
Despite this powerful intuition and her family’s long history of artistic talent, Brüggemann wasn’t always confident in her abilities. She didn’t start pursuing an education in art until she was in her 40s. Even after getting her master’s degree, she deferred her dream of becoming a professional painter to teach art instead. This path led her to New Mexico Highlands University, where she taught for five years before confronting the question: Am I a teacher, or am I an artist?
While she did enjoy helping others learn, she knew it wasn’t her true passion. Her real calling was the riskier option. “Everybody tells you you can’t make it as an artist,” she says. “There’s that fear of not being good enough and thinking that you’re going to end up starving.”
Santa Fe ultimately inspired her to take a leap of faith, with more than 250 art galleries in one city. “I said, ‘Well, if I can make it anywhere, I can make it here,’” Brüggemann recalls. “And I did.”
You can find Brigitte Brüggemann’s work at the Café Des Artistes in Santa Fe, and at her home studio. Visit brigittebruggemann.com to make an appointment.
