Pastel landscapes by Contemporary realist painter VICTORIA RYAN have become some of the most sought after works of fine art across North America and internationally. Collectors and admirers are drawn to Ryan's use of color, light and ability to transform the way we perceive even the most subtle and overlooked landscape details by portraying the true visual poetry that lies within them. RYAN lives and works in Northern California and is particularly inspired by the marshlands, vineyards and farm properties that pepper the landscape there and her depictions are soaked in a sense of dreamlike reality. Lucid dreams and the heightened sense of reality that is experienced in those and similar states of consciousness and the inexplicable feelings and sensations that accompany those experiences are the cornerstone of her artistic mission.

RYAN studied art at Otis Art Institute, Art Center College of Design and the highly regarded California State University at Long Beach Fine Arts Department, where she earned a B.F.A. in Painting and Drawing in 1982. Her works were immediately noticed by curators and collectors alike for her dynamic and inspiring palette, her unique approach to landscape painting, and her mastery of technique which she attributes to her traditional academic training in the arts and her respect for the formal elements of craftsmanship. These attributes give her art a timeless quality.

Ryan's current focus is working with soft pastels on various archival surfaces. She states that nothing compares to the richness in color that can be achieved with the medium of soft pastel or provide her with the level of spontaneity that they provide her. She works with several commercial brands as well as homemade varieties from the butter-like Unison pastels from the UK to Art Spectrum, Rembrandt and Sennelier to name a few. Her favorite surfaces to work on are LeCarte and Wallis papers as well as prepared boards. Layer upon layer of color is applied and some blending is achieved using fingers, cotton and blending tools. Color is pushed to the edge of realism to straddle the line between reality and dream imagery or what she would describe as a heightened sense of reality as we perceive it.