Owl Spotlight: SquareJane

After being inspired by fellow painting Owls and on some prompting by them as well, I have recently delved back into the land of painting.

At one time in my life, it was a maniacal passion. I began experimenting with paint when I was in art classes in high school, trying water colors, and oils. My mother was once a painter as well and perhaps there is something genetic there. I gave up paints after school in favor of working to survive and forgot about it for awhile. Around the age of 20, I met an amazingly talented artist named Rob Nelms and we became inseperable friends. He showed me painting need not be quite so collegiate but instead more like gorilla warfare. Rob showed me how to stretch canvases made from disposed of items like cupboard doors or old box springs. Together we would pitch in our change and buy large cans of latex house paints and would prime our hand stretched canvas with drywall sealer paint. It was messy but it was INSPIRING. We would have our own art shows in our house we shared with two other roommates. It got to be a big deal and we sold alot of art, even making it into local papers. I heard the word "artist" floated around connected to my name and for the first time did not flinchquite so much in self-effacement.

I adore working with paints. I don't simply see painting as a way to create something attractive but more a way to capture a dreamscape from within my mind and share it with others. What my friend Rob taught me all those years ago was to be in tune with that inner crazy person because THAT is the person who paints things that others cannot. Sometimes it can mean an artist tumbles into madness as history has shown us over and over so I do my best to temper that with much more mundane daily life. Sometimes my paintings are whimsical in a fairytale kind of way and sometimes they are more gritty, hard and messy. They are almost always touched with my love of the absurd.

Currently, I am working on a series of small acrylic original paintings from my "One Crazy Spring" series laced with softer and bright colors

and a real sense of whimsy

Anyone can paint. Not everyone can draw but absolutely ANYONE with supplies and a desire can paint. You would be astonished to see what textures and colors the visual world of paint can lead you to. Please, even if you've never thought of yourself as an artist, try picking up a brush and some paint and get to work.