I became a painter not long ago. This was surprising to me, and it may be to anyone who takes the time to explore my art. My mother, Martha R Snowden, was an artist and was very talented. However, she did most of her serious painting after I moved out of the home as a young adult. Thus, I cannot say my mother inspired me as she sat at the easel. But her paintings have inspired me for decades. An example of her art can be seen below.

      My first artistic exploration was with photography. I don't remember exactly where that inspiration came from, but it was significant. I very quickly took an interest in artistic photography, and that was what I stuck with for a long time. I saw photography as a serious form of expressing imagination and sometimes emotion. I have had my photographs displayed a few times, and I will add a page with some examples.

      In early 2021 I had a kind of epiphany. I was looking at some "wall art" to decorate a couple of rooms in my home. I was immediately attracted by abstract works. I purchased a few items and hung them up. As I did so, and was admiring the choices I made, I had an idea. Maybe I could paint something in this abstract genre.

      As is typical of me, when something really grabs my attention I start exploring it and may well take it almost to the point of an obsession. I had never taken an art class of any kind, despite having put it twenty-one years of formal education (I have a PhD in Organizational Behavior & Development). I knew nothing about materials and technique. I watched some Youtube videos to get some preliminary ideas, but  I didn't have the patience to do a lot of research. What I did have was the experience of visiting some of the greatest art museums in the world - El Prado, National Gallery of Art (D.C.), the Louvre, the Ufizzi, Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, and others.

      I went to a local art supply store and bought some supplies, took them to my unfinished basement and jumped right in. There is no doubt my work is unconventional. I started with no knowledge about media; I simply bought some tubes of oil paint and some bottles of acrylic. I knew nothing about brushes, palette knives or sponges. What I began with, and the things that sustain me in the studio are:  a huge sense of creativity, an almost endless imagination, and a determination to achieve something that satisfies me and that others will think has merit.

      My early works were, of course, experimental. I "played around" with all the materials and didn't have any real sense of direction. Even now, after about three years, I often begin a piece with just a vague idea of where I want to go. The things that "drove" me were color combinations, strokes with the instruments, trying to create a sense of depth, and sometimes evoking a sense of playfulness.

      I have come a long way since I began. I have a few very early pieces that I like very much. One of the biggest changes has been in the sizes of the canvases. Early on I did paintings that were 24in x 24in, 24in x 36 in or similar. I moved up in scale to 36in x 36in, 30in x 40in, and 36in x 48in. I went larger as well. My last three works are my largest yet. They measure 60in x 60in. I very much like the large formats. Eventually I want to do some even bigger - I really have no limits, except for the size of my basement.

      I didn't know what to call my art. I finally settle on describing it as Abstract Expressionism. What I have realized for sure is what inspires me is something, somewhat mysterious really, between my conscious and sub-conscious minds. I called it "painting based on instinct". I start with an embryonic idea, often a color, or combination of colors, and let my freewheeling mind proceed. I often don't really know where I am going, but I have a sense that it is somewhere I need to go and I press on. Do I change my mind? Yes, I often do. Can I backup? I don't think so. But I have completed paintings, examined them carefully, and decided that it wasn't satisfactory. So. I painted over them.