A fourth-generation Alaskan, Rosemary “Rozzi” Redmond’s latest body of work celebrates life in, on and around the ocean.

Her painting “Kachemak Capers” was inspired by watching marine life playing in local waters.

“I’m certain that these animals are at times putting on a show for onlookers and it is simply thrilling to watch them,” she said.

Her new-found interest in fly-fishing is showcased in “Evening Troll,” painted with a background of textured blues and greens, with a tiny fly-fishing fly incorporated into the canvas.

“This painting is all about the excitement that comes with the first tug on the line, the interaction of the fish, the water and the fisherman,” she said. “Of course, fly-fishing is not done on the ocean, but on rivers, lakes and creeks where there would be an abundance of insects for the fish, but I decided to stretch the imagination a little.”

With this body of work, Redmond also strives to remind viewers of the importance of appreciating the abundance of marine life in Kachemak Bay.

“In sharing this body of work, I hope to connect with those who have had the same thrills and excitement while on the water and (give) a reminder to appreciate the abundance of marine life we have here in Kachemak Bay,” she said.

Born in Anchorage, Redmond spent her childhood between the Bristol Bay area of Alaska and northern California. She began her artistic studies as a youth in Paradise, California where she drew her neighbor’s horses. One of her very first abstract painting classes was with Wassily Sommer at the University of Alaska Anchorage. One of the first paintings she sold — to former Homer resident, now deceased, Findlay Abbott — was on display at an event in Anchorage in 1969 celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Alaska statehood.

In 1982, Redmond received a bachelor’s degree in art from UAA. She received her Masters degree in art from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York in 1985. In New York, she entered her work in competitions and exhibited in a variety of juried venues before moving back to Alaska in 1990, where she returned to Anchorage and continued painting and exhibiting.

“At that time, I began combining the ideas of a manmade world with that of nature,” she said. “I remember I was in awe over the skyscrapers when I flew into New York, and I felt the same awe seeing the tremendous natural scenes when I flew into Anchorage.”

Redmond has shown her work around Alaska, as well as New York and California. Her work is also in collections in all three states. While living in a small farming community in California, she had a show about rural life.

“Living there was so new to me and exciting for its newness, as Homer is to me now,” she said. “I painted farm animals, tractors, hayfields, even some of the old and very charming little houses in the area. And it was so much fun adding stories behind some of the paintings.

“My cousin keeps his cows in horns, for example, and he found that by doing that he was free from all predators, as his “girls” are very adept with their horns. He can throw a quarter into the air and Wendy the cow will immediately deflect it. Coyotes, mountain lions and all else leave his cows alone, so there appeared Wendy in the show with her beautiful long horns.”

She exhibited extensively in Alaska throughout the 1990s and 2000s, including in Anchorage at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art and the Carr Gottstein Gallery at Alaska Pacific University, and locally at Bunnell Street Arts Center, Fireweed Gallery and Homer Council on the Arts.

In 2018, she moved to Paradise, California, where she lost her home and possessions in the Paradise Camp Fire later that year. Rebuilding her life in northern California in the community of Chico, she continued to create and exhibit, including at the Chico Museum for the Northern California Artist and the Chico Arts Center.

Returning to Alaska in 2022 and pulled by her love for the ocean, Redmond moved to Homer. Her 2024 exhibit, “Interfaces with Alaska,” held at HCOA, was a series of colorful acrylics inspired by the beauty of Alaska’s natural world and included, among others, imagery of meadows and peonies. Her painting, “Icy Straits,” depicted her experience of sailing to Seward through a rough region of the Inside Passage.

“Finding inspiration in nature, my paintings are more or less memoirs of experiences which revolve around the natural world of Alaska,” she said. “I express myself in a creative journey with color and form, weaving the feelings of each encounter together to create a cohesive whole.”

Her most recent body of work, on display at Grace Ridge Brewing, strays from her previous shows in that it is more abstract in nature.

“I love the freedom of expression I find in abstract painting, and I am intrigued with the process of creating order from chaos and finding harmony from that,” she said. “In this spontaneous way of painting, I am frequently surprised with my own results. It is almost like going to the other side of the looking glass where, instead of the image I expect to find, I discover some hidden place.

”The creative process itself is a challenge, especially when painting in the abstract, like placing opposites of shapes, colors and lines and working them all into a cohesive whole. The joy comes when I succeed in making something work that came unexpectedly. I take a lot of chances when painting and when the unexpected works, it is a very fulfilling experience.”

Eager to continue to experiment and grow as an artist, Redmond is planning to take more art workshops and to show her work locally as well as around Alaska and the Lower 48. She also plans to spend some time updating her website and online presence.

Find Redmond at RozziRedmond.com and see her current ocean-themed body of work at Grace Ridge Brewing through September.

“Bore Tide” is part of a series of four acrylic paintings by Rosemary Redmond, currently on display through September 2025 at Grace Ridge Brewing in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting

“Evening Troll II” is an acrylic painting by Rosemary Redmond on display through September 2025 at Grace Ridge Brewing in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting

”Evening Troll” is part of an exhibit by artist Rosemary Redmond, sharing her passion for water and fishing, on display through September 2025 at Grace Ridge Brewing in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting