“This piece is from Pegi’s Garden series. Pegi’s garden is up the hill, at the top of the lawn. Flagstone steps lead you up to the cast iron arched entry, overtaken by vines. The fence is high to keep the deer out, but they always get in anyway. For years, there were vegetables grown in rainbow arches and concentric sun circles. The orchard is still there. Mint, rosemary, various herbs have expanded and lined the back fence. In its day, artichokes were a staple and the pride of the garden. At one point there were sunflowers and roses. Some of the bulbs still come back every year. Now there is a meadow of white daisies. If you go, bring a sun hat. It’s hot. This is all to say, the work is a meditation on the gardener, her essence. Her spirit. I am painting flowers, but I am really painting her vibrations, which might have their own gravitational pull. I don’t understand the science, but I feel the tug. I’m painting the feeling of her. The way she threw her head back to laugh from a place deep in her gut. Her bold patterned capris. Her floppy sun hats. The way she greeted me with “Hey baby girl” and the feeling of our chests touching when we hugged. So when I paint electric, sweet, loud, wildflowers, I am painting her.”

Amber Jean Young, born in 1984, lives and creates in Berkeley California. She is a Northern
California native and much of her work is informed by the California landscape and her rural
upbringing. She graduated from Kenyon College in 2006. In 2008 she earned a Post
Baccalaureate certificate and subsequently a Master of Fine Art degree in 2010 from San
Francisco Art Institute. She has exhibited nationally including Vista Projects, Ace Hotel,
Subliminal Projects, Ever Gold Gallery, Berkeley Art Center and Art Pad SF. Her work is
included in MediaMath’s corporate collection on view in the New York, North Carolina, and
Singapore headquarters. She is a 2012 Djerassi Resident Artist Program fellow and a 2012 SECA Art Award nominee. Her work is published in catalogues including The MediaMath Collection: Selected Acquisitions 2012 - 2016 , and A Celebration of 50 Years of Women Artists At Kenyon College and has been used on the covers and inside jackets of multiple Neil Young and Pegi Young albums.