artLIVE – Who says painting needs brushes or pens? With just her bare hands, artist Iris Scott creates a colorful and lively world, freely bringing her imagination to life.
Iris Scott, born in 1984 in Maple Valley, Washington, is a contemporary visual artist from the United States who currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
She grew up in a hippie style family, living close to nature on a farm. From a young age, she developed a strong connection with the natural world. This later became a rich source of inspiration in her art.
In 2006, she graduated from Washington State University with a degree in fine arts. She is considered a pioneer in bringing finger painting closer to the public, helping this technique gain media attention and achieve commercial success. Her work has been featured in well-known publications such as Forbes, USA Today, CBS New York, and American Art Collector.
The artistic journey of Iris Scott
Her journey into art began unexpectedly while she was living in Taiwan. One day, while painting, she needed to rinse her brush to change colors. But she didn’t want to walk through a hallway full of spiders to get to the sink. So, she put the brush down and continued painting with her fingers.
That small decision led to something much bigger. Today, Scott paints mainly with her fingers and has turned this into her signature technique.
With this unique approach, she creates vibrant, dynamic landscapes featuring animals in constant motion and powerful, free spirited women. She views the world through an abstract lens: “I see the world as a living, breathing painting, full of energy and emotion, waiting to be captured.”
Her inspiration often comes from the natural world: bright flowers, light filtering through leaves, and the free, untamed beauty of nature. For Scott, finger painting is not just a method it is a bold and personal act. She once described it as “a beautiful rebellion” in art.
“What may seem like a child’s trick actually allows for bold, expressive gestures that feel natural and emotional” she proudly shares.
Unlike a traditional brush, the hand with its five points of contact allows Scott to blend colors, build layers, and shape forms in a smooth, intuitive way. “When I paint an animal, it feels like I’m stroking it, as if I’m bringing it to life.” she says.
Although this technique offers freedom, it also comes with challenges, especially when working on small details. But instead of resisting the limits, Scott lets them guide her. She began painting on larger canvases, trying bold movements like throwing paint, and slowly developed a new visual language.
To improve her finger painting, she tested different types of paint before finding the perfect fit: Holbein Duo oil paints.
These paints are rich in color and respond well to the movement of her hands. “Acrylic dries too fast. It doesn’t match the slow and flexible rhythm of finger painting” she says. “If you choose this path, invest in good paint. It really makes a difference.”
For over a decade, finger painting has helped Scott reach important milestones in her career. She is represented by Filo Sofi Arts and held a solo exhibition called Ritual in Pairing in 2019 in Chelsea, New York. Her work received praise from respected art critic Jerry Saltz and has been featured in New York Magazine, Smithsonian, and Artnet.
Awakened by intuition – The breeze that stirred painting to life
At the age of 34, Scott quietly stepped away from the art scene to focus on family. After giving birth to her first daughter, a strong creative feeling pulled her back. She began searching for a new way to express herself, just like when she first chose to paint with her hands.
In 2020, an unexpected moment led to her next artistic breakthrough. While using a small air tool to remove dust from a painting, a stream of air moved across the wet paint and created a soft, flowing mark. It looked like a living cell under a microscope. That moment fascinated her, and she started to explore what she would later call air painting using compressed air to move and shape the paint.
From soft smudges to rough, textured surfaces that look like tiny landscapes, Scott kept experimenting and slowly expanded her new visual style.
Today, she combines different tools in her art fingers, air, palette knives, and brushes creating an artistic journey that keeps growing and changing. She always brings fresh ideas to her work, follows her passion, and gives everything to each piece she creates.
Source: mymodernmet.com
