Not so much Painting

Hi!! Yes, it's me! If you happen to know me, you are no more surprised to find me here showing and selling my Abstract Expressionist artwork than I am as surprised to be here. For those of you who don’t know me, the following is my effort to introduce myself. First to say, maybe the most surprising thing about myself is my age. On May 3rd, I turned 87 years old, and here I am for the first time showing my artwork on social media. True! I am surely blessed to be up and about, living in my own home with my Maltese, Pricilla, driving and doing pretty much most of the things I have always done, painting being one of them. I grew up living in 6 major Southern cities in 5 different states. No, my Dad was not in the military! He was quite successful and frequently promoted and relocated in his company. I graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a BA in Education. I have been married and raised four children who have blessed me with 13 grandchildren (plus Patrick who joined our family by marrying my middle son's eldest daughter). I live in the glorious Mountains of North Carolina. My home is one mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway which, as the most visited National Park, saw over 15 million visitors last year. As for art: I began my journey after my son Steven Page Prewitt graduated with a degree in fine art. I saw that painting did not depend solely on talent but was an acquired skill that could be learned with practice and commitment….Plus the desire to do it! I began using oil and acrylics in a realistic and somewhat impressionistic style. I enjoyed these efforts, but my ability to paint shapes and objects was lacking. Thus, painting for me was many times a tedious and frustrating experience. But I kept on, and occasionally I ended up with something I liked. Plus, I loved playing in the paint! Not too long ago, I began watching my son Steven paint Abstracts, and out of the blue, I tried it myself. Walla! What a fun thing to do! No more struggling for me. It's fun and free and feels like dancing with my hand. Recently, I have taken and enjoyed several Abstract painting workshops. I especially like Lesley Grainger, and my stuff sort of resembles hers in style-lots of marks and color. I love painting this way. There's no more nerve racking effort to “get it right," having to copy something that exists. With Abstract, it is an outer expression of one's inner self. It's a fun, happy experience.