Art has been a part of my life in one way or another for as
long as I can remember. I drew quite a lot as a child. I was encouraged by my
parents who hung my art on the walls of our home. Some of my drawings and
paintings are still hanging there. I studied the many Walter Foster art
instruction books that my parents would buy me but my favorite book was a book
my mother had a child called “Junior’s Fun to Draw”. In fact, I still have that book! I attended BYU-Idaho (Ricks College at the
time) and majored in Art Illustration. After graduation I continued to learn
everything I could about art through classes and books.
Of all the mediums
I have tried over the years, watercolor is the one that captured my heart. I
love the feel of the paintbrush full of paint as I move it across the paper. It
fascinates me how the water combines with the pigments to create passages of
color with such exciting, interesting and sometimes textural results. I try to
use all the exciting, unique and unpredictable things that watercolor can do to
capture the simple, beautiful things of the world. I would like to say that I
have some deep message that I want to put out to the world, but my real intent
is to just create beautiful paintings of the things that make me happy. Seeing
the way the light rests on the side of a house, the subtle colors within
shadows, the bright sunlight burning through the foliage as the sun drops in
the sky, and the beautiful shapes and colors that are all around me are just
some of thing things that inspire me to paint. I am currently playing more with
negative painting and portraying light in my paintings as well as keeping a
sketchbook where I draw using a fountain pen and watercolors.
