I grew up in the Sebago Lake region of Maine and spent my early years roaming the forests and wetlands, establishing a deep and lasting connection with the natural world. My passion and love for all things wild led me to earn a Bachelor of Environmental Science degree, with a major in Wildlife and a minor in Art, from Unity College in Maine, and I’ve spent my life pursuing a deeper understanding of nature and wildlife through the process of creating art.
After decades of painting landscapes and portraits of wildlife I suffered damage to my spine and spinal cord causing severe neck pain, nerve pain in my palms and soles, and muscle pain in my arms and legs. No longer able to draw or paint with a brush, I was very excited to discover a way of painting that doesn’t require so much fine motor control and having to hold my arms up at an easel. Acrylic pouring involves applying very fluid paint onto a surface and then blowing and/or tipping to move the colors around. Beautiful and interesting effects like cells and lacing can be achieved by playing around with the chemistry and application.
In my current series I’m cutting nature inspired shapes out of board and painting them with fluid acrylics. The pieces are then finished with an incredibly glass-like coating of epoxy resin. The board is 3/4” thick and the sides are painted along with the surface, creating a unique art piece to create interest on any nature lover’s wall.
I find that elements of today’s society are pulling many of us further and further from the natural world. Even those of us in rural areas are becoming seemingly more blind to our surroundings, and less likely to spend time in fields and woods or studying nature. I fear that this blindness will lead to less respect and less focus upon the needs of not only the wild animals and plants who live around us, but for fragile ecosystems in general. I see nature art as an opportunity to share the beauty and wonder of the outdoors and its inhabitants with both my fellow nature lovers and also with those who may have forgotten, or possibly have never known, how extraordinary and essential our connections with the natural world truly are.
