Rokhaya Waring

"Most often I choose to paint nature’s patterns, rhythms and harmonies: boats in a harbor, clouds, a forest, a herd of goats. These are conversations between many objects in constant flux and repetition is intrinsic. Rather than a single focal point or place, I prefer my painting to be an experience in which atmosphere, motion and the passage of time can be felt."

In the spirit of Impressionism and plein-air painting, Rokhaya Waring has always enjoyed working directly from nature and compares her process to cooking or gardening where colors, flavors and textures combine intuitively.  Over the years however she has found that it’s in the quiet focus of her studio space, where weather and the elements do not come into play, that her vision can be both expanded and refined.

Born in 1966 in Santa Fe, NM of a French mother and an American father, her dual-nationality and extensive travels have had a profound influence on her work. In 1972 after a year in Florence and another in Paris, Waring's parents settled in Rockport, MA and began homeschooling their four children- eventually founding the Waring School. Rokhaya’s most lasting memories are of activities such as printing on an antique letterpress, raising ducks and geese, milking goats, baking bread, playing the piano and the violin, sketching from life and camping across America. Rokhaya has been drawing from nature since she could hold a pencil and her daily observation and recording via sketchbooks has not only kept memories alive but has become the foundation of her artistic technique and vision.

After graduating from Princeton with a BA in Art History/Visual Arts in ‘88, Waring spent her first summer painting in the Provencal village of Forcalquier.  This cultivated yet rugged landscape became her part-time home for the next twenty years and the climate allowed her to paint almost exclusively plein air. Hay rolls, sunflower and poppy fields- which she painted while using her old Renault 18 as an easel and shield against the mistral winds- are some of her iconic subjects. In 2008 she moved to Gloucester, MA- the Cape Ann of her childhood- where seascapes and boats in the harbor quickly captured her heart. Waring has also spent time painting in Paris, Israel, Tahiti, and other parts of the United States.

Rokhaya's love of nature, travel and Plein Air are deep-rooted. So it’s no surprise that in the spring of 2021, she and her artist husband {Alex Eisenzopf} sold their house in Gloucester to move into a vintage motorhome and headed south in search of inspiration and a new home. In the company of their two whippets, Rokhaya and Alex now live in the Smoky Mountains of NC and are enjoying the spectacular view from their deck.

Waring has exhibited in dozens of solo, group, invitational and juried shows and Plein Air events in the U.S. and France, and has garnered many awards.  She is a member of Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society, North Shore Arts Association, the Copley Society (1995-2008), Rocky Neck Art Colony, and has shown at the Salon Des Artistes Français, and the Salon d'Automne in Paris, and at the Currier Museum of Art.  Her commissioned oil paintings are featured on Tru Fragrance & Beauty’s line of products.  Waring is featured in "100 Artists of New England" (Schiffer 2011) and in "The American Flag in Contemporary Art", (Schiffer, 2015).  Notable collectors include: Carl Crossman (art dealer and appraiser for Antiques Roadshow); Todd Park (US Chief Technology Officer under Obama); Andre Agassi; and Brooke Shields.