Category
2024, Painting (Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor)Artist Website: jmworiginals.com/
Bio:
My love for creating began as a young child growing up in the Chicago suburbs. My parents encouraged my interest in art by enrolling me in art classes and investing in quality art materials.
I earned a degree in art education from Eastern Illinois University in 1991 and soon after moved to central Illinois for a teaching career that would last 25 years.
When I left teaching after the 2016-17 school year, I knew I wanted to create art and exhibit my work. After an exploratory year of working in a variety of media, I discovered I enjoyed painting the most. I built up an inventory of work during the pandemic and set out for my first markets and fairs in 2022.
Artist Statement:
Joy, Love, Hope
My work reflects these three words by which I live my life. Each day I strive to seek joy, spread love and instill hope. Life is full of challenges that can sometimes be overwhelming. I keep positive by finding joy in life’s simple everyday pleasures–the first cup of morning coffee, a beautiful flower in the garden or the delightful buzz of a hummingbird pausing to sip some nectar.
It is through my love of creating that I capture images of such joys and bring them to life on canvas in bright colors and interesting points of view.
It is my hope that the viewer finds a positive connection to my work, that is instills a feeling of joy that such small pleasures can bring.