Medium
Soft pastel, watercolor, mixed media
Contact
Paula’s Bio
My art career started as soon as I could hold a crayon; however, my “work” was not always
appreciated, as I discovered when I drew in purple crayon on the back of my sister’s new wood
desk.
Art took a backseat to my career in public relations until midlife, when I experienced a pastel
class in Ithaca, NY. I was soon hooked by the immediacy and brilliant pigments and effects
possible with this medium.
Retirement has offered me the time and space needed to see, feel, and create what I sense
when immersed in landscapes and nature. Influenced by artists such as Wolf Kahn, the Group of Seven, and Germany’s Blaue Reiter movement, I embrace dark colors, bright lights, drama, and
contrast, allowing me to “see” yellow skies or purple trees – whatever colors capture my view
of the natural world. My works have won awards in several exhibitions and has been juried into
exhibits in the Finger Lakes region of New York, the Toledo Artists Club, the Bowling Green Arts
Council, Athena Art Society, Toledo Women’s Art League, Swanton Fine Art Show, and River
Raisin National Battlefield Park.
In addition to creating landscapes, I also love to capture likenesses of pets in soft pastel for
clients. Although these animal portraits are much more representative than my impressionistic
landscapes, they bring much joy to me and to their recipients. Please do contact me if you are
interested in these or other commissions.