Despite having loved art all my life, my attempts at creating it were limited to the occasional sketch of a family member or the arrangement of stone and plants in my flower gardens until I finally retired from my day job.
In 2004, inspired by the Village Arts of Putney's family of artists, I signed up for a class taught by Peter Granucci. I stocked up on supplies with the excitement of a child returning to school in the fall and began to experiment with pencil, charcoal, oil and watercolor. Now it is a necessary part of my life and I usually have two or three paintings in process at once.
If my inspirations are derived from any profound thoughts needing to be expressed, I am not aware of it. I just enjoy trying to capture the beauty and peace to be found in our surroundings or the hint of the inner person I see in a face.
Laurel Ellis joined Fine Art America on September 14th, 2007.
