| Anne Ray...teacher and now artist
a new beginning...an artist statement |
| Welcome to my second life. People think
it's odd that a physical education teacher and coach for 33 years
(and an athlete even longer) would take up painting. In some ways,
the two activities are very different, but both require a lot of
creativity. They are both challenging, and both have endless
variety. That is what inspired me in my first life, and it is also
what inspires me in my second life. |
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The oil painting entitled Frozen
in Time was conceived early one morning while I was walking
my dog. The light on the ice and snow surrounding the cattails was
beautiful. So was the light on the cattails themselves. A couple of
quick sketches and photos gave me the material I needed to work
from. I used the William Alexander techniques that I had learned in
a workshop offered at forartsake. I like this painting because of
its simplicity (owned by Dan and Cindy West). |
| What do I like to paint? Scenery, flowers, animals,
skies. I love skies. Sometimes I try to build a painting around a
sky that has impressed me. Three of my paintings in a recent exhibit
at forARTSake were based on the sky. My favorite is the watercolor
to the left called Winter Sunrise. Skies are
constantly changing, so what I try to do is remember the lighting,
both dramatic and subtle, that caught my eye and catch that on the
canvas. Sometimes it is the cloud formation itself that attracts my
eye, like the mare's tails in Autumn Skies. |
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This pastel is entitled The Iris. In
my opinion, flowers are a good subject for work in pastels. The
painting shown here was my third attempt at the flower. Practice
makes perfect as they say.... This flower was in my own garden. I
just like the direct contact with the painting surface that pastels
provide. I think my pastel work is getting better (owned by Linda
Sauther). |
| Many times I get an idea for a painting when I'm
walking my dog. Such was the case when I did the oil painting of the
cattails. As soon as I was done walking the dog, I ran back to the
house and got my camera and sketchpad. I had walked by that same
spot many times, but that morning the light must have been just
right. Scamper (my dog) is an inspiration all by herself. She's
funny and beautiful. |
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Poppies was also done in pastel. The
technique used for this painting was different, however. For the
painting of The Iris, I did a lot of blending in the
flowers. In the painting of the poppies, there isn't any blending. I
used just lines to let the viewer's eye do the blending. I must give
credit for much of my progress in pastel to workshops at forartsake
by Diane Leifheit. |
| I paint in 3 mediums:oils, pastels, and watercolor.
I find watercolor to be very difficult. The timing of watercolor
techniques needs to be precise. Oil is probably my best medium right
now, but I think pastels are my favorite. The colors are so vibrant.
They are easy to carry to places far and near, and I may get messy,
but I'm easier to clean than brushes. |
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Winter Sunrise is a watercolor that is
an example of another favorite theme of mine-skies. Partly because
of necessity (skies can change so rapidly), this is the fastest
painting I have ever done. I accomplished the lighting on my first
try. It is miracle if ever there was one. |
