Confessions Of A Water-Loving Polymath Artist
Mastering technique is one thing, but breathing life and motion onto a canvas with your own unmistakable style is where true artistry begins. —Dorothea Sandra
Talking Water, 30”x40”
As a child, I learned to paint traditional New England seascapes along the windswept shores of Gloucester and Rockport, Massachusetts. I was guided by a chorus of instructions: “Do this to create a sky,” “Do that to set up the composition,” “Follow my lead here when forming a rock,” and “Follow my lead here to form a wave swirling below.”
When I finished a painting, it was mine in name, but its spirit belonged to my teachers. Even as a child, I felt both grateful for the lessons and restless within their boundaries.
On my mother’s side, my roots trace back to New England Native American ancestors as well as French-Métis forebears who arrived in North America in the 1600s and became part of this land. In my immediate family, our features and our worldview leaned toward Native traditions, seeing the world through many lenses beyond Europe. From them, I learned that water, trees, and sky are not just elements but living beings, and that I could form a close, personal bond with them if I chose. Nature belongs to the world of science, just as I do as a human, yet it is also my kin, sharing this planet with me.
In the book “Healing the Soul Wound” by Eduardo Duran, the author discusses hybrid thinking. “Hybrid is a term that has emerged out of postcolonial thinking and basically means that there can be two or more ways of knowing and this can be a harmonious process.” (Duran, Eduardo. Healing the Soul Wound, 2006, Teachers College Press, Columbia University, New York and London.)
For me, Nature is alive in its own way, able to communicate and reveal itself to me.
It took me many years, but I learned to live comfortably and fluently in two worlds at the same time—the world of science and the world of living nature. Today, I get to share this joy and harmony as it comes through in so much of my art.
In these abstract water paintings, my goal is to never artistically copy what I see in nature. My goal is to connect with the environment around me (eutierra), get to know it (its essence), artistically capture our connections (experiences) together, and share this joy and happiness with others.
Cape Cod Coolness, 36”x48” (Stolen)
Waves Of Pretty Blue, 16”x20” For Sale
An Artist’s Day At The Beach, 16”x20” Sold
Connecting With Water Nature, 30” x 40” For Sale
3-Painting Triptych 30”x40 Sold
