Eileen McIlvain

I look to capture light, shadows, colors, and movement of my surroundings. While painting watercolors for 20+ years, I've broadened my repertoire with acrylics over the last two years. The dual mediums help me to simplify and to develop new ideas. The more I explore multiple media, the more creativity I gain in each medium. Some subject matter wants to be done in watercolor - like a potential series on skies, clouds, and wide vistas in planning, while the textural variation of acrylics draws me to the drama and variation in local landscapes: I am planning a series on local landforms: gullies, riverbeds, hills, and rocks, as well as a series of "groundscapes" focused on-the-ground segments arising, literally, underfoot. So from broad scope and vista, to close-in detail and surprises. The exposure to other artists and their techniques and talents in Open Studios has been a major benefit of membership, contributing substantially to my art practice.