Decorative Painting
 

 

this needs to be a descriptive paragraph about decorative painting...........I grew up in Naples, Florida in the early 1970’s.  My work as an artist is inspired by early days swimming in pools and at the beach, as we grew crispy in the sun and smelled of chlorine and salt into the balmy evenings.  I remember I was always in or around the water, which served to wash away my cares and worries then and inspires and soothes even now.  The colorful images of swimmers in pools, divers, surfers and sunbathers at beaches, captured nostalgic moments and coastal flora and fauna, have become my visual language. I was raised by two intellectuals, a lawyer and a nurse. Practical thinking led me to study Psychology. Since art was always an outlet for me, I combined art and psychology for a Master’s Degree in Art Education and Art Therapy at Florida State University. Working as an Art Therapist for 18 years after that, I helped many people tell their stories through the making of art. During this time, my paintings began to include a combination of texture and storytelling.  Later, a career shift to mural making and decorative painting influenced my art practice.  Larger format subjects and succulent textures were a vehicle for me to convey mood and atmosphere, and to express my own perceptions of the human experience in my paintings. I live and work in Naples, Florida with my husband, artist Ed Koehler, my son and 2 dogs.

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