Artist Statement
I perceive art to be a language that is both felt and understood in areas of the soul, not often communicated with yet very much alive, instinctive and immediately receptive.
The mysteriousness of nature, its interaction with each part and detail while being in constant harmony with each other is so intriguing to me. It may be that my love for creating art is my way of responding to the substance of life that excites, mystifies and endlessly pursues me. In this stage of my life, my materials are mostly paint, mixed media and marking tools useful for a full range of expression, and new experiences. My approach is spontaneous, unplanned and joyful. I paint intuitively in constant exploration. For me, there are few pleasures greater than layering delicious colors and then unveiling previously drawn lines and splashes of textured paint. Painting with the same interest as an explorer looking for treasure, my journey demands a constant observation and conversation which in time, creates a history and relationship of its own.
My earnest desire is that one views my art with an emotional response that leaves them more alive, hopeful and open to all things beautiful. My goal is to express the wonders of the world around me, best implied through abstraction, capturing life through light interacting with streams of color. I search for the moment where I feel both enchanted and comforted at the same time; then I am released to pass the ‘baton’ to the viewer to experience.
Realizing the mysterious impact of beauty and art, my desire is to create a world that does not remain inactive or flat but reaches deeply, and exuberantly embodies a life that, while suspended in its framed space, is most certainly not confined to it.
Bio
After attending the Maryland Institute College of Art, a number of new found passions opened
up. Spending most evenings in the institute’s pottery studio and building stage sets for the Peabody Conservatory in her free time, Paris also found teaching art to underprivileged children in the inner city of Baltimore most rewarding. Following school, she and her new husband, a fellow art student, moved to Clearwater Florida to teach at the Florida Gulf Coast Art Center for a few years and then decided to opened a gallery and studio space with another couple. Their gallery, Saloon of Arts, featured their work, a few local artists’ plus offered classes in painting, sculpture, pottery and basket weaving. Soon after, the call to the very popular juried art shows was irresistible. Paris and Bruce began displaying their art pottery and sculpture up and down the east coast from Boca Raton Florida to Ann Arbor Michigan winning the approval of the judges and capturing awards including Best in Show and Honorable mentions. After participating at the art fairs for over a decade, Paris and Bruce moved back to the Baltimore area and settled down to spend time raising their four children while working at their church and teaching art. Over the past seven years, Paris has reinvented herself, revisiting paint in a new way, moving from clay sculpture, pottery, and her beloved impressionist style to abstract expressionism with a new found love.