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To create is to breathe ... for me, they are one and the same.
It would be impossible to live without either.
Because I started painting so late in life, my story is more philosophical than training-oriented.
Can someone become a successful artist without a lifetime ahead of them or without an art education?
My Answer: When I become anxious about a limited lifetime due to age, I try to remind myself to live in the moment.
The past and the future are about memory and imagination, not about being.
The only true reality is the moment.
It is being in the moment that gives our work its uniqueness and quality.
And what is a "successful artist"?
My Answer:
Create to express yourself regardless of the audience. The act of creating ... THAT is the "success".
In that success we extend and share our love and energy to help brighten and enlighten the Universe and its beings.
At 70 years of age, I am still working to support myself and commuting on 4 buses a day.
I turn the 9-5 switch off on the weekends and get lost in my living room studio.
I get lost in an intuitive world of nature, color and movement.
As a child, the natural world was my go-to.
The perfect escape from a world of chaos, it brought quietude and reflection to my spirit.
I grew-up in cities and towns but always managed to find wilderness ... getting lost in woods, exploring swamps,
discovering polliwogs, hiking, skiing, riding horses.
Nature was my solace and joy.
I believe nature is an integral part of all of us.
A connection to peace, well-being and survival.
I started drawing as a way of holding the natural outside world inside my heart during stressful times.
I have drawn throughout my entire life.
Having moved often, it was very easy to continue drawing as pencils and paper were easy to take with me wherever I went.
Writing and poetry were a close 2nd to drawing.
I started painting in 2014.
My choice of acrylics is simply due to availability and cost. I enjoy them, also!
They dry quickly and are very forgiving when one needs to make a change!
Quirky fun-facts about me:
* I have 5 planets in Aquarius and the remaining others are in air signs.
* Before painting, my art forms were actress, dancer, martial artist. Life is all about moving.
* I studied 3 martial art forms; my main focus was Aikido which i studied for 25 years.
* I love music that comes from the soul regardless of style.
* I consider myself a vegetarian who eats meat occasionally.
* I love wind, wolves and eating all types of seaweed (the food of the future).
THE IDEAL CREATIVE LIFE
Never working 9-5 again so that I could become a full-time creator.
I would have a light-filled studio near some form of nature: sea, woods, hills, prairie, desert.Besides working on my paintings, I would offer free art classes to seniors, vets and the disabled. I would hold stretching-meditation classes for adults and children.
And I would definitely do pet portraits to contribute to a few of my favorite critter causes.
"The way to know life is to love many things."
I love this quote from Van Gogh. I believe in its validity with all my heart and soul.
Artists who inspire me: Franz Marc, Georgia O'Keeffe, Henri Matisse, Henri Rousseau, Joan Mitchell, Vincent Van Gogh