Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Autumn Hunnicutt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Autumn, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on to date was my MFA thesis project titled Longing. I completed my Master of Fine Arts at Washington State University in 2022. When I got into the program, it was the height of the pandemic, and I was living in southern Colorado near my hometown. Moving across the country during that time was especially difficult, not only because of the restrictions and fear that came along with 2020 but because I was worried how my family would fare the uncertainty. I moved to Washington alone, only to attend classes via Zoom from my apartment. I was allowed on campus to work in my studio but it was overall a super lonely time. The first year of graduate school was emotionally tough for me but eventually Covid restrictions were lifted, classes reconvened in person, and I made some amazing friends. The class of grad students that began in 2020 were offered a third year of study, from an original two-year program due to the chaos that was our first year. I originally planned on accepting the offer, setting me to graduate in 2023. While a few of my friends were planning the execution of their final year and their thesis exhibitions over the summer of 2021, I was galivanting with a man I had just met across the western states. As soon as classes began in the fall, I got covid and dumped in the same week, compiling on top of an already emotionally exhausted list. I decided I wanted to leave Pullman as quickly as possible and asked the art department chair to graduate in 2022 as originally planned. After some maneuvering of classes, I had to plan my whole thesis and execute it in just two semesters.

That’s where the project began. I knew I needed to convey this deep feeling I had been having for some time, a sense of longing. Longing for home, longing for the unknown, longing for something seemingly unattainable. I also knew I needed to work with the old family photos my mom and I had recently scanned and archived. And I knew these paintings needed to be big. I chose four women from my family (including myself) to be subjects and began digging deep into my subconscious memories of each. I formed associations with each, including connections to specific landscapes, colors, flowers, and feelings. From there I began the process of sketching and creating digital mockups in Photoshop, playing with different compositions and color schemes. After deciding on sizes, I hand built and prepped each of the seven panels.

Longing is an interpretation of a matriarchal genealogy pertaining to women in my immediate
family. The goal of this body of work is to create a narrative that deviates from a specific space
or time. It is honoring each woman for their own experience in life while simultaneously
connecting them through elements that exist in different dimensions: the physical and the
ethereal planes of the unknown. Longing places myself alongside the women who came before
me, plucked from different timelines, not only to narrate their existence in a familiar place but to
elevate the strength and wisdom gained through generational experiences. Stemming three
generations, this series assigns each woman their own elements from nature based on my own
memories with them, in turn constructing a familial mythology they share while maintaining
their own unique individualism.

Autumn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an artist from Raton, NM, currently living and working in Trinidad, CO. I received my BFA from New Mexico State University in 2018 and my MFA from Washington State University in 2022. I would consider myself a contemporary figurative painter working primarily in oil paint. My work explores the beauty of memory, emotion, interconnection, and cyclical patterns influenced by the colors, landscapes, plants, and animals of the southwest.

I had an interest in art from an early age. Both of my parents are creative people, although neither pursued art, they always encouraged me to do so. My childhood was filled with outdoor adventures and imaginary worlds thanks to living in a rural area – a factor I contribute to my current work. When I moved to Las Cruces for college, I tried to fight the urge to declare my major in art because, “how will you make any money?” I ended up getting my BFA in studio art after coming to the realization that art was the only thing I could see myself doing, broke or not. My painting professor at the time, Craig Cully, encouraged me to look into graduate schools, an option I had never considered. After a year out of school and a lot of partying later, I decided to apply to some grad programs. During the height of the pandemic, I moved to Pullman, WA to get my MFA.

A lot of my inspiration and drive to paint has come from lived experience. In the span of ten years, I have lived in about seven different locations across five states, all with their own adventures and hardships. My work often originates from deep personal experiences and emotions, that often come from said adventures. The southwest always has a way of calling me back, which in turn sparks inspiration for new work. My most recent body of work and an accomplishment that I am proud of is a public art commission for Trinidad State College. Patron Saints is a collaborative project with artist Cody Kuehl that will be permanently displayed in the Freudenthal Library on Trinidad State College campus. This work is 20’x8’ in total, all hand painted in oil. It represents the beauty and wildlife from the region.

Currently, I am planning a solo exhibition with all new work that will take place in May 2025 at Kuehl Fine Art Gallery in Trinidad, CO. I also recently stepped into the role of co-curator of an amazing, annual exhibition at The A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art titled Resonance. As for what I have to offer to the public right now, I am taking on pet portrait commissions, working on a small holiday inventory, and am planning future workshops and lessons for my local community. If readers are interested in either commissions, lessons, or prints, they can contact me via Instagram, email, or send me an inquiry through my website.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Several years ago, I had this wild dream of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (a 2,650-mile trek from Mexico to Canada). In April 2024, I set off on this journey after quitting my day job and packing up my painting supplies. My plan was to be gone for six months, living out of my backpack in the wilderness. Although I knew the odds of making it the whole way were low, I was determined to at least make it far enough that it felt like a fresh start when I got home. After just 400 miles of the California desert, I decided it was time to sleep in a real bed again. I quit my dream just two months into a six-month plan and I was both devastated and relieved. I hid from the public for two weeks after I got home because I was embarrassed that I didn’t make it. So many people knew about my adventure and were following along online, I felt like I would let them down too. I had to pivot hard to get back into a productive and positive mindset. I decided I would use my savings for the trip and focus solely on making art with the hopes of launching my art career in that time off. I came to realize that even though I only completed a fraction of my goal, I got what I needed from it. What I really needed was an excuse to break out of the current cycle of feeling hopeless in a day job that stifled my creative endeavors. I needed a break from technology and the constant distractions of daily life. I found so much strength within myself that I did not know I had, and that was exactly what I needed. Sometimes failure is really what you need to grow. Which was and continues to be a hard lesson for me. Now I have a camera roll full of reference images and a mind full of memories I need to get out in paint.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the fact that I am doing what I want to do. I am able to express my inner monologues and emotions in a visual way that helps me process the world around me. It is so rewarding to create something from within and even more rewarding when it resonates with others. Being an aritst is tough and I will say that I am currently in a place of uncertainty with my work. It has been a difficult couple years since leaving academia, but that doesn’t stop me from pushing hard to pursue my dreams. I have big goals for myself and sometimes that is really overwhelming, especially living in a rural area. But I think that will make it all the more worth it when I get to where I’m going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.autumnhunnicuttart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumn_hunni

Image Credits

Briar Marsh Pine