When I first started taking art classes years ago, I was fortunate to have found an artist-focused collective that brought together galleries, studios, and classrooms. When we moved to this area four years ago I immediately began seeking a similar enterprise and was fortunate to find the Silvermine Art Center. Studying with talented working artists, surrounded by ever-changing exhibits of current artworks, and learning with engaged fellow students provides me with continuing artistic challenges. At Silvermine, I satisfy my love for figure drawing, pastels, oil paintings, representational and abstract art, and ever new opportunities to explore artistic expression.
The pictures I create sit on the page, apparently still. Yet in each scene, it’s the movement that intrigues me. Movement encompasses both traditional composition—how the viewer’s eye moves around the piece—and how individuals are poised in concentration, about to act. Heads turning. Hands stopped in mid-air, in mid-action. What are they thinking? What just occurred? What are they going to do next? It’s a moment, a movement, an idea inviting me as artist and you as viewer to wonder about both their stories and their next chapters.
As far back as I can remember, I’ve been designing, creating, and making, usually with something textile, and also with whatever paper, wire, ink, or clay that was handy. I’m told that these activities are driven by my right brain. I’ve also been absorbed in stories my entire life, whether told by family or gleaned from books. Words and stories engage the left side of the brain. Visual storytelling melds both aspects and, I hope, creates images that feel whole.
Credits:
Silvermine Arts Center