Artist of the Month for May at the Dragonfly Gallery
Traveling Europe earlier in
life and seeing so much incredible art inspired me to start drawing, which later
led to painting. I love the moment when things go right and the image in your
mind is suddenly a reality on the canvas in front of you. It bugs me when I
start a piece and get sidetracked. Life happens with some
frequency.
Like many children, I drew
and painted often growing up. That kind of petered out until my early 20's when
I started to feel like doing it again. It's been about 10 years since
then.
I tend to use charcoal and
pastel pencils often. I think I like being able to use my fingers to spread the
medium, layer, and blend. In terms of painting, I worked in oils for about 5
years, then transitioned to acrylics. The Golden brand, diluted with a glaze
medium, has been a great alternative to the headache - literally - of
turpentine and liquin. Acrylics don't off gas, so no mask for bigger pieces, and
the sheen with the glaze is very close to what I was used to with Utrecht oils.
It also stretches out the paint and allows for longer drying
times.
When I am not painting, I like to rock climb, surf, and
ski. The activities are physically challenging and also put me in places with
the kind of beautiful landscapes that I like to draw and paint.
I am working on a
children's book, with original illustrations, that I hope to publish through
FriesenPress. That should be in the works for some time in 2015. The best way to
view my artwork is at the Dragonfly Gallery in Aromas, 380
Blohm.
Thank you, Nicholas for sharing your knowledge and feelings about painting. Happy painting!
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