About
At 10 years of age I was gifted a "Learn to Draw with Jon Gnagy" drawing set and I discovered that I had a talent for.jpg)
drawing! As a teenager, I loved to draw portraits from my friends' class photos and from collected pictures in magazines - always working in black and white - and I delighted in the realism I achieved. But not unlike many budding artists, I pursued a different professional path, putting my passion for art on the back burner, where it simmered over the decades.
I earned a Masters degree in Accounting, became a CPA and worked in corporate tax. I didn't go into a completely catatonic artistic state, though. Every so often, I added a little something to the pot on the back burner and give it a stir; starting with photography, which I pursued over those many decades. Photography taught me a lot about observation and composition and I became obsessed with capturing light and shadows; all of which continue to influence my work.
Turning the simmer up just a bit, I took a series of watercolor classes in my late 30's and rediscovered the joy of creation (and COLOR!!). That was when I turned my focus to capturing landscapes with color and I never looked back. Now that I am retired from the corporate grind, my passion for art sits squarely on the front burner and I have added pastels to the now boiling pot. With pastels, I love the luscious colors and the depth, complexity and mystery that can be achieved when the colors are layered. I also love the clean, fresh transparency and the ghostly images produced by watercolors. Even better, I found that combining the two mediums adds a wonderful element of spontaneity to the process.
I work en plein air and from photographs. When I start a painting outside, I try to capture the magic of the lighting, which changes quickly, and then I finish it in the studio using photos as a reminder. My goal is to capture what photos can't - the very essence and feeling of the place.
drawing! As a teenager, I loved to draw portraits from my friends' class photos and from collected pictures in magazines - always working in black and white - and I delighted in the realism I achieved. But not unlike many budding artists, I pursued a different professional path, putting my passion for art on the back burner, where it simmered over the decades. I earned a Masters degree in Accounting, became a CPA and worked in corporate tax. I didn't go into a completely catatonic artistic state, though. Every so often, I added a little something to the pot on the back burner and give it a stir; starting with photography, which I pursued over those many decades. Photography taught me a lot about observation and composition and I became obsessed with capturing light and shadows; all of which continue to influence my work.
Turning the simmer up just a bit, I took a series of watercolor classes in my late 30's and rediscovered the joy of creation (and COLOR!!). That was when I turned my focus to capturing landscapes with color and I never looked back. Now that I am retired from the corporate grind, my passion for art sits squarely on the front burner and I have added pastels to the now boiling pot. With pastels, I love the luscious colors and the depth, complexity and mystery that can be achieved when the colors are layered. I also love the clean, fresh transparency and the ghostly images produced by watercolors. Even better, I found that combining the two mediums adds a wonderful element of spontaneity to the process.
I work en plein air and from photographs. When I start a painting outside, I try to capture the magic of the lighting, which changes quickly, and then I finish it in the studio using photos as a reminder. My goal is to capture what photos can't - the very essence and feeling of the place.