Sometimes I think I must be doing it wrong!
When I read about other artists they usually say something like “I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. I’ve always known I’d be an artist.”
I didn’t. I stopped drawing after the last art class I took back in 6th grade when I realized that what I had drawn looked nothing like my vision. I studied math instead and graduated from Ball State University with a degree in math education.
I started painting in the late 80s when I was in my mid-30s. My buddy Pat brought his oil paints to a regular get together at his brother Mike’s house. I painted an abstract landscape from my imagination. Pat liked what I had done and decided to teach me to draw. I haven’t been able to stop since. Sometimes my work still doesn’t exactly look like my vision. I’m learning to get over that.
I work mostly in pastels. I have experimented with oils since my first effort. And I have one watercolor that I’m very proud of. Of course it’s only about an inch square. Lately I’ve also been experimenting with silverpoint. But there’s something about the feel of the paper under my hand that I don’t get from other media.
I prefer to do landscapes, particularly places in the woods or by the water, mostly plein air. I actually do more figures, mostly because I attend a weekly figure drawing group more regularly than I can get outside to paint. But my heart is where I can hear the voices of the moving water and the wind in the trees.
I sell some of my work. I’ve even taken a couple commissions. If you’re interested in one, drop me a line. Mostly I paint for myself because I need to. I’ll keep painting as long as I feel that need.