For me, there's never a single reason for why I do anything. That's why I've decided to stipulate that this is only one reason why I put brush to canvas and swish it around. I know that I'll want to talk about other things later, and my other reasons won't supplant this one. They're all components of my motivation. ************************************************************************************************************ Perhaps you've noticed my bold palette. Of course, I do experiment with subtler hues when the mood strikes, but most of my work is bright. Well, as many have probably noticed in my bio, I grew up in Michigan's upper peninsula, where winters are exceedingly long. Sure, the summer color is fabulous, but so much of the year there is very gray. Even in the summer, many days are overcast. Consequently, I found my grandfather's hand built greenhouse fascinatingly exotic. I had the run of the sawmill all day when my brother and I weren't working on it (where I also got into LOTS of trouble, but I'll save that for another post), but the house and the greenhouse were OFF LIMITS. Of course, to a curious child, this elevated the greenhouse full of strange, colorful, non-native specimens to the Land of Forbidden Fruit. I never got a full look at what was in there, but my imagination filled in the gaps. This certainly sparked my interest in exotic plant species, which I now collect and paint. ************************************************************************************************************ The bright colors and strange shapes that I both saw and imagined were alluring, and living in a dreary, gray landscape, any splash of color is a joyful interruption. As soon as I had a paying job (I found that work outside the family sawmill paid considerably better) in my teens, I painted my walls bright yellow, with orange and green accents. ************************************************************************************************************ Today, I paint to make more joy, for myself and others. My work cheers me up in the long Michigan winters. My primary goal right now is for my art to be someone's sunshine. We all need it.
Why I Paint: Reason 1
For me, there's never a single reason for why I do anything. That's why I've decided to stipulate that this is only one reason why I put brush to canvas and swish it around. I know that I'll want to talk about other things later, and my other reasons won't supplant this one. They're all components of my motivation. ************************************************************************************************************ Perhaps you've noticed my bold palette. Of course, I do experiment with subtler hues when the mood strikes, but most of my work is bright. Well, as many have probably noticed in my bio, I grew up in Michigan's upper peninsula, where winters are exceedingly long. Sure, the summer color is fabulous, but so much of the year there is very gray. Even in the summer, many days are overcast. Consequently, I found my grandfather's hand built greenhouse fascinatingly exotic. I had the run of the sawmill all day when my brother and I weren't working on it (where I also got into LOTS of trouble, but I'll save that for another post), but the house and the greenhouse were OFF LIMITS. Of course, to a curious child, this elevated the greenhouse full of strange, colorful, non-native specimens to the Land of Forbidden Fruit. I never got a full look at what was in there, but my imagination filled in the gaps. This certainly sparked my interest in exotic plant species, which I now collect and paint. ************************************************************************************************************ The bright colors and strange shapes that I both saw and imagined were alluring, and living in a dreary, gray landscape, any splash of color is a joyful interruption. As soon as I had a paying job (I found that work outside the family sawmill paid considerably better) in my teens, I painted my walls bright yellow, with orange and green accents. ************************************************************************************************************ Today, I paint to make more joy, for myself and others. My work cheers me up in the long Michigan winters. My primary goal right now is for my art to be someone's sunshine. We all need it.
