Mount Fuji with Sakura Print

I was born and raised in a small town in central Minnesota and now reside on the East Coast.. At an early age I was artistically influenced by my mother who painted as a hobby. I will never forget when she oil painted Mount Fuji right on our living room wall! I was impressed by the use of the paint medium too. She painted with almost an impasto style and I was intrigued by how oil paints could raise off the canvas. I started painting when I was about twelve years old. As a teen, I started experimenting with acrylic paints, but I inspired to oil paint because I loved how there was so many ways to apply the paint to the canvas and how it took days for the paint to dry. I liked having the option to change my mind over time. My parents took me for art lessons with an artist in a nearby town. She taught me how to apply and mix the oil paints on the canvas and how to use the brushes too. I went on to enjoy a career in commercial art and then to teach elementary school where I shared my love of painting with my students. I find when I paint I get lost in the painting and find my inner peace. Over the years, I mostly painted landscape scenes of places I’ve been or pictures that inspired me. Recently, I visited a Chihuly exhibit and was inspired to oil paint one of the display pieces and discovered my love of abstract art.