Artist Statement
I've come to realize that painting isn't really about making pictures. It's about learning how to pay attention. The longer I look, the more the ordinary surprises me. Wild Light is as much about an inner landscape as it is about a brilliant horizon. It's a reminder that wonder isn't something we find; it's something we practice.
As a kid, I collected rocks, shells, buttons, and, of course, Halloween candy. My favorite part was dumping everything onto the floor and sorting it by color and shape. Looking back, I think I was trying to make sense of the world through collecting. I still collect, but the collection has changed. My paintings are artifacts of experience, a way of collecting moments of presence, gratitude, and wonder - a state of being.
I've learned that I thrive on novelty. Rather than searching for a single style or medium, I've come to trust curiosity as my compass. My work moves between watercolor, oil, drawing, and relief sculpture, but the impulse remains the same. I explore the space where observation gives way to invention, where the outer landscape meets the inner one, and where something ordinary suddenly feels mysterious.
Coming to New Mexico was an act of faith. The University of New Mexico was the only MFA program that accepted me, and I arrived without knowing exactly what I would find. Looking back, much of my life has unfolded that way. Again and again, I've discovered that the next step only reveals itself after I've taken it.
My grandmother was a landscape painter, and after she passed away, I found myself painting the sky. Clouds and the setting sun became symbols of impermanence, a way of spending time with grief, and a way of spending time with her. Over time, my gaze settled on the horizon, and the ground came into focus. I found mesas, canyons, and the wildly resilient plants of the Southwest. The prickly pear cactus became my muse, reminding me that beauty and resilience often grow side by side.
Artist Bio
Sean Hudson is an artist and educator based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His work is rooted in a deep curiosity about the natural world and a belief that creativity reconnects us with joy and wonder.
Hudson earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in Denver and a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the University of New Mexico. His interdisciplinary studies in painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation fostered a spirit of experimentation and play that continues to shape his creative practice.
During the pandemic, Hudson was unexpectedly offered a job teaching watercolor, a medium he had not previously worked with. What began as a practical opportunity quickly became the foundation of his studio practice. He discovered that watercolor mirrored the way he wanted to experience the world: direct, spontaneous, and full of possibility.
Today, Hudson divides his time between the studio and the classroom. Through workshops at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, L'Ecole Des Beaux Arts on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, and his own studio, Magic Sky Watercolor in Albuquerque, he invites others to experience creativity not as a pursuit of perfection, but as a way of reconnecting with the joy of creative expression.
Hudson's work has been featured in New American Paintings, Hyperallergic, and Pasatiempo. He has exhibited throughout New Mexico at Richard Levy Gallery, Lapis Room, Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque, and SITE Santa Fe and Smoke The Moon Gallery in Santa Fe.