Riverstones & Whales

"Riverstones and Whales"

I am fascinated by metaphor. Whales call us to explore deeper aspects of consciousness, such as emotions, intuition, and inner wisdom. Riverstones symbolize accessing our innermost will and initiative. While the stone itself does not cause change, it aids in recognizing and accepting it.

This piece is a 60” x 60” x 2” acrylic painting on canvas. The color palette for this painting is important to me and one I use often. It originated during a 2 week stay at Anderson Ranch, a nonprofit arts organization near Aspen, Colorado, that hosts workshops and residencies. Under the direction of Linda Geary—an artist and painting chair at California College of the Arts in San Francisco—our first prompt was to create 20 paintings in a single day.

I believe I subconsciously chose a three-color palette to focus my energy on production rather than color theory. The three colors I selected were Payne’s grey (which reads as blue), bronze (which reads as gold), and white. As I often enjoy exploring the "why" behind choices, I researched the meanings behind these colors:

● Blue: Represents a cool and calming energy, symbolizing creativity, intelligence, loyalty, strength, wisdom, and trust.

● Gold: Represents light—both inner light, reflecting the self, and outer light, symbolizing the universal.

● White: Represents peace and presence.

I feel the variations of these colors embody contrast and the balancing act of our thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

The inspiration for this work was intuitive, arising from the painting process itself. At a certain point, the canvas guides my next steps. I begin larger paintings by playing with paint and mediums in expressionistic sweeps, using tools like drywall trowels and silkscreen squeegees. Sometimes, I leave these initial gestures untouched; other times, I refine them with brushes or other tools. After this "first pass," I let the painting dry and sit with the outcome—sometimes for a day, a week, and sometimes for months.

Eventually, I overcome the fear of destroying what I’ve created, knowing it’s part of the painting process. As I zero in on formations from the first pass, I sharpen them to represent something more concrete. In this painting, those formations became riverstones and two whales, with nods to water and its pathways. You’ll also notice a circle within the composition, which connects this painting to a larger sculpture project, The Circle Conversation, in which I am currently immersed. Additionally, the work features a landscape aspect, with an upper horizon line, earth and sky shapes, and dynamic vertical movement throughout the composition.

I am the artist Courtney Cotton.

Thank you for visiting the Arvada Center for Arts & Humanities “Art of the State 2025.”

To follow my day to day art life you can find me on Instagram @courtneycottonetal