Welcome to my very first ever blog entry!
“All beauty and art evoke harmonies that transport us to a place where, for only seconds, time stops and we are one with the world. It is the best life has to offer. André Acima”
“Toda la belleza y el arte evocan armonías que nos transportan a un lugar donde, por solo unos segundos, el tiempo se detiene y somos uno con el mundo. Es lo mejor que la vida tiene para ofrecer. André Acima”
Good Day Everyone!
Welcome to my very first ever blog entry!
COVID provided plenty of reflective time. I thought about my art—why and how it is created. Today, I share what inspires me to create my art.
For many years, I have been graced with tremendous experiences in Mother Nature. Living in rich natural environments has been a privilege for most of my life. During my early days, I lived with dense woods behind our house in semi-rural Delaware, US. My parents were both gardeners and lovers of the ocean. Our family camping trips afforded many opportunities to explore nature and ocean activities.
My earliest snorkeling memory occurred when I was in high school. Indian River Inlet’s rocky causeway was a favorite area for us all to gather to enjoy hunting for seafood. While my siblings and I dove for the treasured blue claw crabs, our parents waited on the rocks then emptied our nets so we could go down for more. A whole new world opened up for me with these underwater visions. Treasured early memories like these awakened my love for the environment.
While at the University of Delaware, my studies focused on art, photography and anthropology and I became intrigued by different cultures when I traveled to Mexico. In my last semester, I took a scuba diving course. My esteemed photography professor, Byron Shurtleff, loaned me a Nikonos underwater camera. Even though I was only able to capture images of pool drains and people underwater, this experience opened my eyes to a new aspect of the underwater realm. Decades of scuba diving at countless worldwide sites and underwater photography deepened my love for Mother Sea and for “capturing the moment” in the watery depths.
Painting courses in college and afterwards varied—oils, acrylic, batik and mixed media. Cultural and nature-oriented themes prevailed in my years in Panama, the US and Japan. After I retired from my art teaching position in Okinawa, Japan in 2013, I moved back to Panama. My focus became ocean-themed acrylic and mixed media painting.
In my art studio, built 50 feet from the majestic Pacific Ocean, in Playa El Palmar, I paint contentedly to the eternal wave sounds and rhythms. A rich background of nature’s forces enhances the internal whispers from my spirit as the paint moves like a current in the ocean.
May You Open Your Heart to the Nature Around You!
Chrisse