Growing up, I could always be found somewhere drawing. An artist, that’s what I always dreamed of being.
Light and color...forms and shadows…people, places, things, feelings, the way light dances in the tress, the color of the sky in autumn or the green of the trees before summer has fully dawn. Fleeting moments in time to magical for words; these are the things that excite me, makes me feel so alive and moves me to try and express THAT on canvas. To paint God's beauty everywhere. I have had the privilege of studying with some very fine artists through the years. I've studied with Kay Orr who showed me the freedom of pushing color. Long time mentor, Maria Del La Juen, introduced me to the old masters, and Camile Corot whos paintings inspire me. In 2013, while attending the Plein Air Conference, artist Joe Paquet's opening speech had a profound affect on me. There are those moments in life that can change the trajectory of life. This was one of those moments for me. I was fortunate to have attended one of Joe's workshops. That experience continues to inspire me to achieve higher levels of mastery in my work. A quote from Joe Paquet's speech: "What can be more tragic than to feel the boundlessness of the surrounding beauty and to be able to see in it its underlying mystery... and yet to be aware of your own inability to express these large feelings” -Isaak Levitan When my brush touches the canvas, I want to express the feelings that moved me to do it in the first place and to give God all the glory in it. |
|