Artistic Inspiration.
A restless soul from the beginning, I'm on the move, inspired by nature, experimenter in acrylic paint and digital drawing.
My strongest childhood memory of being moved by nature was at age 5. I stared mesmerized by the wind blowing through a sea of long grass at my grandfather’s farm in Missouri. The sun shining on daffodils on an Easter morning could fill me with joy that I could not put into words, but felt compelled to express. At first, I tried to tell my family, but they just looked at me, puzzled. It was frustrating. At age 7, I began drawing in earnest. Even after years of practice, I knew I wasn’t skilled enough yet to convey to others the feelings nature aroused in me.
As an adult I tried naturalistic landscape painting. The work was competent, but not exciting. There was nothing that moved viewers or distinguished the art from that of so many landscape painters.. A few years ago, I was on the verge of despair that I would never accomplish much as an artist when a blessing arrived, disguised as a setback. I injured my painting arm and could not make the vigorous motions brushes require. So, I began using painting knives.
Suddenly, my work came alive with rich texture and color. I experimented with unusual colors that I’d had for years and had never known how to use. The paintings began to sing. They excited viewers in ways I didn’t expect and couldn’t have predicted. I began to get accepted into more juried shows and have won two awards of excellence this year. What joy!
My strongest childhood memory of being moved by nature was at age 5. I stared mesmerized by the wind blowing through a sea of long grass at my grandfather’s farm in Missouri. The sun shining on daffodils on an Easter morning could fill me with joy that I could not put into words, but felt compelled to express. At first, I tried to tell my family, but they just looked at me, puzzled. It was frustrating. At age 7, I began drawing in earnest. Even after years of practice, I knew I wasn’t skilled enough yet to convey to others the feelings nature aroused in me.
As an adult I tried naturalistic landscape painting. The work was competent, but not exciting. There was nothing that moved viewers or distinguished the art from that of so many landscape painters.. A few years ago, I was on the verge of despair that I would never accomplish much as an artist when a blessing arrived, disguised as a setback. I injured my painting arm and could not make the vigorous motions brushes require. So, I began using painting knives.
Suddenly, my work came alive with rich texture and color. I experimented with unusual colors that I’d had for years and had never known how to use. The paintings began to sing. They excited viewers in ways I didn’t expect and couldn’t have predicted. I began to get accepted into more juried shows and have won two awards of excellence this year. What joy!