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I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There is a lot of subject matter in the mountains and valleys and desert vegetation around my home. My preferred subject has always been animals, wild or not. My love of the animal kingdom gave me an appreciation for all types of furry friends, and my love of nature gave me a lot of material for artwork. The spectacular clouds and stormy skies of the desert landscape and Rocky Mountains, and now the special things that make up a southern state are great sources for art of any kind.
I did learn from art classes taken in high school but had no further formal training. I learned more from watching wildlife, observing birds and flowers and other critters, including pets, my own and other peoples, in natural surroundings than I ever did in school. The exception being the one teacher that taught me shading and to not be ‘afraid of the dark’.
I have always done my best artwork with a pencil or charcoal which allows me to get a lot of detail in the simple black and white. My watercolor paintings are not the ‘washed out’ look, again I want more color and detail. I have recently, in the last year, discovered that I get great results with oil paints and have created some beautiful flowers and landscapes, and pet portraits. Oil painting is great for any subject. I don’t like acrylics, they dry too fast for my style of painting.
I am currently a resident of North Carolina and the subject matter here is abundant. Landscapes are a challenge here because you truly can’t see past the trees, which is very different from New Mexico. In the southwest you can see forever; here not so much. My gardening is better, except for fighting the grass and weeds, and I do love it here, green is good.
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