The Sandy Cliffs and Blue Skies of Martha’s Vineyard Abstracted into Paintings by Rachael Cassiani

Massachusetts-based artist Rachael Cassiani finds inspiration in her local beaches, dunes, and cloud-strewn skies to create abstract landscape paintings in various sizes and shapes. With a limited but vibrant color palette, Cassiani strips each scene down to its essential elements. Different shapes and hues create the illusion of depth and separation between air, land, and sea.

“I choose the structure of the paintings by looking at my scene and seeing where the most dominant hues are,” Rachael Cassiani said in a statement. “I exaggerate the natural colors of the original landscape.” While painting almost exclusively in the Martha’s Vineyard and Vineyard Haven areas of Massachusetts, Cassiani manages to capture her surroundings in a way that is not repetitive or homogeneous. The time of day and changing seasons completely alter the view, as does the artist’s choices regarding positioning and perspective. Swirls and daubs of oil paint add texture to some of the works, but they each feel like a small piece of a larger abstract puzzle.

To see more of Cassiani’s paintings, follow the artist on Instagram.