Last year, maybe around summer, I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep while the sun was somewhat still up.
Mortal sin.
This put me in that weird lucid dream state and suddenly I was hearing a song on repeat in my head with colorful shapes slowly coming together. The more I needed to place the image the more reluctant the blobs were to form.
But sure enough, an image of a car and figures singing appeared. And there it was! Ronald McDonald, his cartoon self and live action self flashing back and forth behind my eyelids.
“Caves and rocks, and lots of logs”🎵
Car, camping, haunted house, Ronald McDonald and friends—it was a miracle I found it on YouTube.
Can you guess whose family this living room is inspired by?
Hint: Disney circa early 2000s
Is that so?, April Werle, 2026, 24 x 24 in, Acrylic and stain on wood panel
This piece is for my upcoming show Our Sometimes Home.
It’s my first piece in this little pivot where I am exploring race and culture in a more discreet lens.
This show is about loss of childhood, and internalized messaging from pop culture for what the ideal family looks like.
I am looking at shows I grew up off of in the late 90s and early 2000s. How there were different types of families but they usually had 4 family members, parents that were together, and each member of the family was the same race.
It’s a show about inherited grief, voyeurism, and escapism.
Our Sometimes Home opens in June at the Glacier Art Museum.
Introducing April Werle for our 𝐐 & 𝐀 [𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭] series!
🔗Get to know more about April's artistic practice, history, and inspiration! Link In bio!
👉April Werle is a narrative painter based in Missoula, Montana. Her work always comes back to childhood and coming-of-age narratives, where adulthood is something interrupting the scene—seen as colorful and fantastical backgrounds met with stark black and white realism.
⏰ 𝙈𝙞𝙭𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: 𝘌𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯, on view until March 20th.
Visit us Wed-Sun from 12-5PM
#groupexhibition #supportyourlocalartspace #hypersocal2026 #mixedraceartists #AprilWerle #MixedFeelings #Fantacy #contemporayart #artistinterview
Some photos from my residency at PlatteForum.
Some unexpected mental shifts happened while I was there like my relationship to color and my relationship to exhibiting.
Denver is so colorful with all of its vibrant murals, which gave me mental permission to use more saturated color in my work—something I was nervous about before.
I also started playing around with installation, expanding on how I utilize murals to make a show more immersive. I also started playing around with animated projection.
I honestly feel like this was my best show to date, and I’m so excited to take what I’ve learned into the future of my practice.
I miss my Denver fam.
I Live With a Ghost is up at PlatteForum’s AIR Annex Gallery until Dec 20th.
![Introducing April Werle for our & [ ] series! Get to know more about April's artistic practice, history, and inspiration! Link In bio! April Werle is a narrative painter based in Missoula, Montana. Her work always comes back to childhood and coming-of-age narratives, where adulthood is something interrupting the scene—seen as colorful and fantastical backgrounds met with stark black and white realism.⏰ : , on view until March 20th.Visit us Wed-Sun from 12-5PM#groupexhibition #supportyourlocalartspace #hypersocal2026 #mixedraceartists #AprilWerle #MixedFeelings #Fantacy #contemporayart #artistinterview](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6742523325476867183342_0_2d24858169aeea1f1992f269d74f11d2.jpg?o=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&h=562cfbf1af4e0b4fae73a55f86354fec)
