Gregg Laananen is a self-taught artist who lives and works in the Skagit Valley. He began painting in 2006 through the encouragement of his friend, the late artist, Ed Kamuda. He continues to exhibit in galleries in Seattle and the Skagit Valley.
"Today I continue to wander and camp and hike to find sources for the paintings, while the wood constructions are separate from this. These, the wood constructions, are things I began to make from pieces of wood that I would pick up on my walks around town and near the railroad tracks. These pieces of wood fascinated me in their various changed states, bleached by the sun, dabbed in the rust bleeds of dead nails, broken and discarded in so many different ways. Piecing them together on a single plane, I discovered how much I enjoyed creating tensions between them, and if I added paint, they could become more integrated, more complete. It gives me great pleasure to make these."
