About the Artist

Char says:

The natural world has always been my muse.  My escape.  My salvation.  My spiritual beacon.  My voice has always been through art, not language.  As American painter Edward Hopper said: “If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint.”  In school, I became enamored with science to uncover the mysteries of nature.   Although I learned the answer to many of these questions through my professional training as a naturalist, then veterinarian and pathologist, I have increasing reverence for the myriad of mysteries that remain unsolved by science.  Thus, I return to creating art in an attempt to capture that mystery…. the spiritual world of nature.  While painting and pathology are seemingly widely disparate endeavors, they have similarities in discovery of patterns, colors and shapes.  It is not my desire to capture a realistic image when I paint.  In contrast, I prefer a looser, more impressionistic approach, leaving the viewer an opportunity to make their own interpretations and draw their own conclusions.  My goal is not necessarily a finished painting, but to savor the creative process.  To quote another scientist, Albert Einstein said “… creativity is intelligence having fun.”  I enjoy the ride.

Bio

Char was raised in western Colorado where she alternated her time between playing in the canyon country and living in the mountains on a cattle ranch.  Although she earned awards for her art, she studied biology at Colorado College prior to attending veterinary school at Colorado State University.  After years as a small animal and equine veterinarian, she returned to school and obtained a PhD in veterinary pathology at the University of Georgia, specializing in wildlife diseases.  These years of training in anatomy and enhanced observation have proved invaluable in her work as a painter.  Char has studied with some phenomenal painters who have aided her on her artistic journey, notably Skip Whitcomb, Scott Christensen, Carolyn Anderson and Dan Young.  Char gives them her heartfelt thanks.