In my mid-twenties, I had a mentor that told me, if I were a bug, I would not just have one set of antennae. I would be covered with them. I don’t just casually glide through the world around me, I sink down into it with my entire being. I feel it, deeply, with every sense fully employed.
When I am awed by beauty, it fills me with such a passion I can actually feel like I’m going to burst if I do not celebrate it in some tangible way…capture it…and express it…so I can share it with others around me so they, hopefully, can share in my joy.
This is one of my core motivations for painting.
Painting has, since my childhood, always been my favorite mode of expressing this powerful compulsion to capture and share beauty with others. It is this passion that compels me to be an artist. I create, not because I’m trying to be an artist. I create because I just am one. I must paint. If I do not paint, I do not feel complete. I am not fully expressed as a human.
What most inspires me to paint is the glory of God I see reflected in His creation all around me-from the very intricate and complicated patterns I observe in pansy petals to the ever-changing hues in the shadows of snow, depending on what the sky is doing.
I am dazzled by creation, and when I can convey that onto a canvas, I get to preserve that joy and gift it to others who view my work for years to come.
I am also inspired by the accomplishments of humankind-the rich history of others living true to their callings and leaving behind marvelous expressions of their unique creativity for us to enjoy. And lastly, I find inspiration in the emotions a scene or a subject imbues.
While I can and have painted in a variety of mediums, my heart finds its home in sculpting the surface and painting it with oils. Likewise, I’ve achieved a fair amount of mastery in painting every subject and most styles. But, my true loves are landscapes and still-lifes and a soft, representational expression of these subjects.
I’m an artist who is deeply inspired by the glorious richness of beauty in the world around me and by all the feelings and expressions of creativity and beauty by others that have come before me.
My goal is to inspire happiness, hope and wonder through an artistic celebration of God’s creation. I hope to take your breath away. I long to bless with beauty.