No one can re-create the elegant beauty of nature, but we can all interpret what we experience and lay it down with paint on paper (or all manner of mediums.) That is what I attempt to do each time I am inspired by a quiet moment in my garden, or a grand view of some magnificent landscape, either in a far away land, or near to my home in Northern California.
While studying art in college, I experimented with various mediums (and still do sometimes,) but I always return to watercolors for their pure pigments, and the simplicity of water as their solvent. For me, painting with watercolors as my medium is what is closest to nature.
When I chose to live “behind the redwood curtain” many years ago, a constant in the decades that I have lived in Humboldt County has been the inspiration of the natural environment, always bringing me back to painting.
After decades of artwork inspired by my surroundings, I have never lost that sense of wonder and am thankful for the opportunity to express that wonder in my work.
It has also been my life’s work to bring that opportunity to others by sharing skills and techniques in the visual arts with people of all ages. My philosophy is that finding a way to communicate and express the vision inside of each of us is what makes us whole. Art can inspire all who try to find meaning in their lives. I am committed to helping others find their muse and to inspire them to become inspired.
Maureen McGarry 