“To me, composition reflects an artist’s personality. My mother says I gave her a backache when pregnant. I must have felt squished, and very possibly this contributed to my longing for open spaces. I am moved by the shear physical delight of being outdoors. The grander the space the more soothed my spirit feels. Even before discovering my parents’ vast collection of National Geographic magazines, I was itching to go places. This itch for exploration coupled with intense curiosity has propelled me around the globe.
Traipsing about is a great way to exercise an artist’s “seeing” muscle. Light is a shifty character that determines the mood of a place. Under the right circumstances, any place and subject can take on a magical quality. I feel an emotional jolt and am feverish to put paint on canvas. What I see is a multitude of colors, and I want to capture them all. So many things come into play that determine atmosphere -- a soft purple glow to the Bering Sea during a winter storm, the yellowy orange of a dust infused sky above Jaisalmer Fort in India. I have learned how to see and convey mood by being a curious and keen observer.
