Artist Statement and Biography

Artist Statement

Painting with Water, Color & Flow

In retrospect, my evolution as an artist has felt like a joyful, glistening river, nourishing and flowing throughout my life, with my sometimes experiencing the butterfly analogy… while learning early on its lifespan to be surprisingly brief… but always, like life itself, creativity combines the window of curiosity and fun with flexibility and flow.

A blank sheet of 300 lb. watercolor paper represents a creative invitation to both reflect and interpret my personal life experience through a variety of subject matter. While describing through light, form, and design, unplugging my mind keeps me flowing in the river of pigment and water where visual potentiality abounds. A granulated Ultramarine Blue wash, a crisp Alizarin Crimson berry edge, an Indigo splatter, along with the many other watercolor essences and qualities, keep me happily rooted in flow. My aim is to visually communicate a desired set of core feelings and connect on a cosmic level both to my subject and to the viewer through this timeless, evocative medium.

"My work has evolved through various iterations of illustration, design, advertising, map-making, calligraphy, and more. The harmony of my current artistic adventures with Fine Art Watercolor Painting is both energetically aligned with these past experiences and fueled by the ever-expanding universal desire for personal creative expression."

Artist Biography

Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Grace was influenced, at an early age, by a professional commercial artist living in her neighborhood who specialized in carving woodblock prints and, among other projects, painting floral designs for porcelain china patterns. Grace recalls, "He would show us magazine pages filled with vibrant color, and his enthusiasm for his artwork was infectious. He profoundly impacted my perception of how creativity could become one's life's work."

With only a 25-minute train ride on Metro North to Grand Central Station, Grace had easy access to the city and would spend lots of time there as a young adult. Educated at the New York School of Interior Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology, earning an AAS in Interior Design, she pursued further studies at the University of Connecticut, earning her Bachelor's degree later in life as an adult student.

Her first position after graduation from FIT was in the drafting department at Union Carbide, through a technical service firm, creating electrical schematic drawings used to produce printed circuit boards for steel scarfing machines. Years later, she created an alphabet using the same electrical symbols based on the proportions of the ancient Roman alphabet. Over time, Grace independently ventured into industrial advertising for the machining industry, where she designed advertising and print materials for many years.

Her curiosity for creative knowledge continued through studies with Master Calligrapher Pamela La Regina. As a result she discovered the beauty of merging calligraphic forms with floral imagery creating gardening site plan illustrations for Fine Gardening, and Better Homes & Gardens; Garden Shed. Decorative Maps were also created for Power & Motoryacht and Art & Antiques Magazines. Grace worked in the gift book industry designing and illustrating book jackets for Peter Pauper Press. Her career weaves together various art forms, each shaping her unique artistic voice.

One day at her local library, Grace met a fellow artist who was perusing the same books in watercolor and they began talking. Ultimately, she referred Grace to watercolor painter/teacher Carol Hubbard AWS and the door to professional Watercolor Painting was opened. Grace recalls, "In looking back it's amazing how one conversation can alter your life so significantly.”

Grace's current art practice is centered in her home studio. Her life experiences continue to deeply influence her work. She employs meticulous planning for representational watercolor paintings and spontaneity in trusting the process for abstract works. Discussing her style, Grace acknowledges the influence of artists like O'Keeffe, Klimt, Turner, Sargent, Wyeth and countless others.

Grace's work was highlighted in the June 2022 issue of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine in an article entitled, A Legacy of Women & Art Endures. As a member of several regional art organizations, she has exhibited in New York, Connecticut, and Chicago. Notably, in November 2023, she received The Medal of Honor in watercolor from The Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, N.Y.; NY, for Brick #18, a painting in a series of Industrial Still Life pieces. Her travels in the southwest have also inspired a series of paintings showcasing the region's beauty, and currently has a painting entitled Canyon Colors included in the New Britain Museum of American Art's Art Party of the Year 2024 Exhibition fundraiser.

Grace began teaching watercolor in 2016 and also surely emphasizes her commitment to being a lifetime learner. Each new piece of watercolor paper represents a fresh start, a new chapter in her story of creativity, curiosity, expression, and joy.