My passionate involvement with art began when I first entered the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam as a young woman. Prior to that, I had little exposure to art. The experience caused a transformation in my life. My children remember their childhood in Europe as being in tow behind their mother—continuing visits from museum to museum.
With the initial spark of appreciation lit, a new world opened to me after reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Following that experience I enrolled in a workshop offered by noted artist and author, Eric Wiegardt. The workshop was filled with practicing artists, and I learned that true artists are always learning—in quest of perfecting their skill and vision. Now, with many workshops and classes behind me, I still find watercolor to be mysterious and elusive, challenging and enticing.
I never know what is going to catch my heart when I select a subject for painting. Sometimes it’s a look on a face, sometimes it’s the way the colors play on the landscape, sometimes it’s the shapes. Whatever it is, I always recognize it as a jump in my heart, an intake of my breath. From there the hard part starts. I often get caught up in the painting as it progresses and it might not remain true to that initial falling in love; but that first moment is always what brings me back to painting. I’m happy if a painting turns out, but in truth, the real gift of painting is that it has taught me to see. |
