Edgartown Lighthouse

I’ve never really thought of art as a career or vocation, it’s more of a way of life, bringing beauty, joy, color and light into a world that can be painful, ugly and dark.  I attempt to incorporate art into all aspects of my life, from my wardrobe and accessories to cooking veggies from my garden and decorating my home and work environments.  This passion has led me in many different artistic directions, starting at a very young age, thanks to my lovely, creative, Ukrainian mother who left this earth too soon.  I began to draw and paint when I was 3 and by the age of 7, she had taught me hand sewing, knitting, crochet and embroidery; and as soon as my little legs grew long enough to reach the pedal of her treadle Singer sewing machine, I was making doll clothes and school outfits.

 

As a teenager and young adult I was logically drawn to fine art but other career aspirations curtailed my artistic productivity until recently retiring from a 20-year career as an English Language teacher.  Now I have the time and resources to focus on my first love of drawing and painting with watercolor.  My subjects are beautiful things and places that I love.  Organization and attention to detail are attributes that have served me well in other professions and are present in my watercolor paintings as well.  The real beauty of watercolor though, is that it forces me out of my comfort zone of control and perfection, allowing me to let the water, paint, brush and paper create those happy accidents that I call “serendipity.”