About April Hughes
April Hughes is a contemporary artist based in Winter Springs, Florida. Working across multiple mediums including oil painting, watercolors, and mixed media, her work explores the emotional landscapes of memory, place, and human connection.
With over 15 years of artistic practice, April's work has been exhibited in galleries across the United States, from intimate local spaces to larger metropolitan venues. Her distinctive style combines technical precision with emotional expressiveness, creating pieces that resonate with viewers on both aesthetic and emotional levels.
April's influences range from classical masters to contemporary innovators, with a particular reverence for the color theories of the Impressionists and the emotional depth of Abstract Expressionism. Her Florida surroundings often inform her work, with the unique quality of light, natural landscapes, and vibrant community culture appearing as recurring themes.
Each piece begins as an exploration—of a feeling, a memory, or a moment observed. Through a process of layering, building, and sometimes deconstructing, April creates works that invite the viewer to pause, reflect, and connect with their own emotional landscape.
Education
- MFA, Visual Arts, University of Florida, 2010
- BFA, Painting, Rhode Island School of Design, 2006
Artist Statement
"My work exists at the intersection of the seen and felt world. I'm fascinated by how color, form, and texture can translate emotional experiences that might otherwise remain ineffable. Each piece is a conversation—between medium and intention, between artist and viewer, between the world as it appears and the world as it is experienced.
In my practice, I embrace both precision and chance. The controlled deliberation of detailed brushwork alongside the spontaneity of poured paint or experimental techniques mirrors the way our lives balance the planned and the unexpected. This duality creates a productive tension in my work that feels truthful to lived experience.
Ultimately, I create to connect. If a viewer finds something of themselves in my work—a remembered feeling, a forgotten moment, or simply a moment of pause in a hectic world—then the artwork has fulfilled its purpose."