A Lifetime of Memories: Ruth Walker
When I was a small child, my ambition was to become a famous artist. I have spent most of my life following that dream. Of course, I have not yet become the famous artist but I have had the pleasure of painting along the way. Formal training as an artist has been limited. Training was in commercial art which prepared me for a career in graphic arts. I spent about thirty three years in that field.
Since retiring from Troy University in 2000, I have had more time to paint. I am fortunate to be able to use several mediums: pencil, ink, watercolor, acrylic and oil. My favorites are oil and acrylic.
I enjoy painting many subjects. I especially like painting portraits of people, especially children. My methods and styles are my own, derived from those artists whose paintings please me. I am self-taught in the art of portrait painting. I learned from books written by those artists whose style of painting I liked. Most had books of instruction. I chose the parts of the instructions that worked for me. Portrait painting is challenging but the results are very satisfying. When possible, I like to get to know the people that I paint. Knowing the person enables me to pu the personality into the painting. It has not always been possible to get to know the person, since some of the most challenging portraits I have painted have been of people who are deceased. I do however, sometimes ask the subject to visit for final touches. I paint strictly from photographs. I am a very slow painter and wouldn’t ask anyone to set still that long. My portraits are painting in oils on canvas. I do sometimes experiment with other mediums such as acrylics, charcoal and even pencil.
As an avid gardener, I have abundance of subjects for my paintings. What better subject that a fresh flower, a beautiful bird that chose to visit the gardens, a butterfly that chooses to sip nectar from a delicious flower, or maybe a special spot or object that has some special meaning.
Another favorite subject is water and mountains. Sometimes, I like to take a blank canvas and paint what my mind sees as a place where I would like to be. I call these “mind paintings.” Life is precious whether it is humans, plants or animals. My art is my creative expression of life. |
