About
Art Teacher, Gerald E Talbot Elementary School
I live and work in Portland, ME. This is my 12th year teaching in the Portland school district and have also been the district art coordinator for 5 years. My preferred medium is oil paint and the subject matter can range from landscapes to abstract work.
Gallery
Artist's Statement
The paintings that I have been working on reference a few things in my life that have helped me connect to creating art during a busy time in my life. My process began with thinking about how this summer has been a connection to water, the ocean, and its therapeutic properties. Originally my thoughts started out with an ocean landscape or seascapes, being in Portland and spending as much time near the ocean this summer as I could. However, this process brought me to thinking about other bodies of water, lakes, streams and rivers. I thought about how the water flows over rocks and other materials, and began thinking about how listening to the ocean and a bubbling stream also has a calming and therapeutic effect. So as I began painting, I wanted this connection to water to continue, but also use the process of painting and blending colors as a calming and reflective time for myself. So I found myself painting quickly a few landscapes that I wasn't keen on, and wasn't really calming for me as I was hoping. I kept trying to paint things just right, didn't like how things looked, wasn't inspired, etc. So I began to think about the blending process and how blending colors is something that I really enjoy when I paint, and it is a part of the painting process that is very therapeutic for me. So I thought of creating a painting with rocks and water flowing over and around them, and I really enjoyed this painting. I then began another painting that uses more colors, and I thought of bubbles, and began creating a slightly abstract painting with colors and blending and creating spheres. I came to this idea from the bubbling waters of the ocean waves or a stream and also how my children have always loved playing with bubbles. These became my reflective thoughts and really allowed me to relax and paint. I was thinking of how painting and blending colors is enjoyable for me, and also about my children while I created my work. My thoughts also led me to family time at the lake or the ocean during the summer. In the end, the paintings are not typical of what I have created in the past, but that's why I enjoyed making them. The process and the transformation of my thoughts and creations has been the highlight of making art again.