I don't follow art trends since I make them. When I paint, I look inward, not outward. For me creating art is all about personal expression rather than following others and trends. I am not interested in others' self-expression - I am interested in my own and what comes out of my own world and imagination and my own creativity. For me that is the primal reason why I am an artist to figure me out, reveal my hidden unknown subconscious which is where the creativity comes from and let that stream onto the canvas through the art process of painting.

Vian Borchert: Inspiration from the Artist

My optimism stems from the fact that I am a dreamer. I’ve always been a dreamer ever since I was a young child. I would always dream about beautiful things and imagine things much prettier than they are in real life. I sometimes sit and wonder why I dream that the upcoming events or situations are much better than how they are in actuality. Then, I realize that the hopeless optimist in me seems to take over the whole core of who I am. Being a dreamer and an optimist is much like being a hopeless romantic which I also am. You truly want to believe in romance – you truly want to believe in the good, you truly want to believe that good is awaiting one and will occur.

The impression of the memory of a chromatic scale arranged as an emotional abstraction is what Vian Borchert’s four paintings “Lemon Zest,” “Limoncello,” “Transcendent,” and “Lemon Sky” convey. We might experience an ongoing biography in quarters, as each painting could represent a decade or so of the artist’s life–as we might see this life in its development, in the compositional shape of colors. The yellow in each picture is strategically placed, indicating the level of awareness and wisdom the artist had at that point in life. The yellow, representing the actual true self’s identity, could indicate the location of that true self within the boundaries of the artist’s perception, as manifested within the boundaries of the painting itself.

Our perspective, at least mine changes and shifts with time and growth. The core meaning of my art usually shifts and somewhat changes as I grow. Yet, the essence of my art has always been the same since many years, which is to capture the expression, feel, and atmosphere of a certain setting through an abstracted expressionistic poetic touch. I especially love sunrises and the first crack of light that one sees at dawn. I love full moons as well and how they brighten the night skies.

There is a lot of growth that has occurred within me throughout this success journey and within my life that I do owe to books and dead authors, poets and artists who I don’t know personally. Nevertheless, their work from literary to visual ones had touched my soul and propelled me to persevere and go forth... My favorite poet of all time is Langston Hughes, especially his poem “Mother to Son”. Langston Hughes’s poetry that embodies hope speaks to me like no other. I find poet Mary Oliver’s poem, “Wild Geese,” to be one of my favorite poems and it is very inspiring to me.

I am most proud of the body of work I have created throughout the years and the fact that my art resonates, inspires, enriches, enlightens and even changes people’s lives for the better. I have seen people tell me that my art has moved them so much that they wrote poetry about it. I have seen people gather around my art in exhibitions and engage in deep conversations with strangers about my art. I have seen people completely change their whole life direction after experiencing and being inspired by my path and artistic career. I know I have changed so many lives for the better due to the creative awakening that my art has on people’s lives.

Putting in the years and creating a huge and strong body of work was the norm to be considered an artist. I was educated under the old school beliefs that "Pain" is essential in creating a "Painting". And, to be honest, this is one of the main reasons why I ended up an artist and I went to art school, to help me navigate my pain into paintings. Art was and still is till today a visual language for me to bring forth what is within me onto the canvas, be it joyful thoughts or melancholic ones. My life's experience is transparent and transmitted onto canvas so to speak, and painting is a vehicle for me for that transportation.

I don't actively search for inspiration, it simply occurs without effort. I believe this is due to the fact that I was born with a natural gift/talent, and I am a highly creative individual. Thus, inspiration comes to me effortlessly sometimes in the least expected matters. I could be simply driving and I would look up and see a source of light coming through the trees while waiting for the traffic light to turn green, and just that simple light that caught my eye through the branches can evoke one idea leading to another.

Beyond the woods, I am very much a water person, I love the sea which is an essential source of inspiration throughout my art career. Hence, my love for the big blue is apparent in my work. Variations of the color blue have also made appearances in my abstract work.

When looking at the paintings by Vian Borchert, you can see the artist’s distinct style in each piece. Her artwork always carries a deep personal meaning and is connected to the various experiences the artist has had throughout her life. Borchert’s artwork is full of geometrical shapes. It seems as if when entering the abstract space of the artist’s canvas, they go through a filter that not only alters their form but also puts them in a new context. And just like the title of one of the pieces – “Restructured Perspective” – this is where new points of view arise.

Vian Borchert’s art reflects how she perceives the world around her. As a highly observant person, she strips phenomena down to their very core and looks past their physical shell. The artist’s stylistic choices are more than fitting for the way Vian Borchert approaches art. Her new artworks combine collage art and painting, manifesting her variegated experiences. The unique composition of the masterfully aligned elements expresses the deep desire to create, reconstruct, and heal.

I describe my artwork as a form of visual poetry. In my landscape paintings, my intent is to capture the natural light that occupies the atmosphere and bring it forth within the landscape.

Lavender Fields Forever, is a painting that embodies the feelings of joy and rejuvenation achieved through the love for nature and its abundant beauty and endless bounty that it bestows upon humanity.

Each issue of Up the Staircase Quarterly features an Issue Illustrator, an artist whose work was chosen to pair with and complement the poetry of the quarter. Issue #60's artist is Vian Borchert

Borchert tries to depict the architectural flair within her paintings, and she does it wonderfully. “My artwork reflects my dreams and inspirations. In my abstracted architectural cityscapes, there is an emphasis on tall buildings and looking up."

In a way, I joke and say my early journey is similar to the one of famous writer Franz Kafka where he was an insurance clerk by day while at night, he wrote his “Metamorphosis” novel and masterpiece. Nevertheless, despite the fact that I am a person of multi-talent, I felt that the 9-5 desk job was suffocating to the creative free thinker of a person that I am and to my sense of identity. Eventually, the artistic nature within me took over and I left the finance world to the fine art world.