Gina Cochran is fascinated by human behavior. She has a background in Applied Behavior Analysis and Mental Health Counseling. In her work, she deals with questions such as what compels people to do the things they do. And why do they do some things repeatedly and others only once. She feels that she approaches each step of her work the same way; dealing with the same questions. She considers her work as a visual representation of the emotional response to all of the things she experiences on any ordinary day: the chaos, the joy, and the precious and quiet spaces between moments that are memorable. Whether Gina is attempting to throw the doors open to chaos, or taming it, it is all there, uncensored and real. She says that it comes from a place of resolution, happiness and ultimately gratitude. There’s no deep political or social commentary to her work, nor is she trying to match her client’s sofa, or to emulate one of the greats.
It’s simply a series of reactions. Gina works with mixed media, acrylic as well as encaustic. Gina quit her day job as a therapist some years back and she’s been painting full time since. She’s self-taught, gathering advice and knowledge where she can. To her, she believes that experience, life, time, trial and error are all wonderful teachers. Gina has been exhibiting her work since 2003. She currently lives in rural northern VA with her son and husband. Her art is in corporate and private collections throughout the United States.
