California Cliffs Painting

I am what you might call an "emerging" artist. I'm originally from the Caribbean island of Jamaica and immigrated with my family to the U.S. at 6 years of age. I was always drawn to art; my mother was my first teacher and taught me how to sketch when I was in the 7th grade. I picked up a paintbrush for the first time just a few years ago in July, 2015 in search of a peaceful outlet and frankly, something to do outside of my demanding job. After many years in Education, a masters degree in counseling, and a second masters degree in theological studies, I discovered another great love. One year later, I left the regular nine-to-five world of work and began a consulting practice, which left me more time to develop my art. Soon after, I serendipitously met artist Floyd Gordon of Orangeburg, South Carolina, who has been encouraging me to keep painting. Around the same time, I also discovered that my own mother—my first art teacher—had, at one point, received acceptance to attend art school in Jamaica. Instead of pursuing her passion, however, she started a family and abandoned those dreams. I am loving this journey, and am creating my own new dreams while living out some of my mom's. I have no formal training in art, and have only taken a few classes and workshops at a local gallery. I paint because I am inspired by nature - its calm, its beauty, and the vibrant colors - and I love trying to capture it on canvas in order to preserve that beauty in my own mind and to share it with others. I love it when people tell me that they find themselves staring at my work, or when they say they feel transported there, as if they could climb right into the canvas. This is the mood I like to create. At this point in my development, I just want to keep growing and improving as an artist by experimenting with different styles and developing my own artistic and stylistic identity. I admire artists like Mark Boedges of Vermont for his use of color and brushwork to create a brand of impressionistic realism I love (the way he captures light is just fantastic); Renato Muccillo of Vancouver for the mood he creates in his ultra-realistic images; and several other studio and plein air painters I have come across since I began my journey. Oh and another favorite is Andre Kohn - although he is a figurative painter and I am not (right now). I just love the roughness of his painting style.