"WE ARE SO LIGHTLY HERE" leonard cohen

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IN THE EARLY 90'S MY ART CAREER BEGAN TO FLOURISH AFTER DISCOVERING A HIDDEN RESERVOIR OF CREATIVE ENERGY BROUGHT ON BY A SERIES OF PERSONAL CHALLENGES.  I HAD NEVER PAINTED BEFORE BUT SOMETHING WITHIN WAS PUSHING ME TO PAINT.  I BEGAN WITH PORTRAITURE AND SINCE THAT TIME, HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK.

THE TRANSITION TO BECOMING AN ARTIST HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS LEARNING CURVE AND I HAVE DEVELOPED A NEW FOUND RESPECT FOR THE RESOLVE REQUIRED TO MAKE THE ART PROFESSION WORK FOR ONESELF.

MY MENTOR AND NOW HUSBAND LONG TIME ARTIST CHRIS MAC CLURE,  MOVED TO CABO SAN LUCAS, BAJA, MEXICO IN 1997. OVER THE NEXT 13 YEARS, WE PUT TOGETHER AN AMAZING COLLECTION OF ART AND ARTISTS FROM OUR HUMBLE STUDIO BEGINNINGS TO BECOME THE MOST RESPECTED ART GALLERY IN LOS CABOS. THE GOLDEN CACTUS GALLERY BECAME A BENCHMARK OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE ART COMMUNITY IN THE SOUTHERN BAJA.

DURING THIS TIME I PAINTED AND LEARNED THE CRAFT FIRST HAND.   PAINTING AND RUNNING A GALLERY IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY HONED THE SKILLS AND THE EXCITEMENT OF THE MEXICAN CULTURE GAVE ME THE INSPIRATION.

MY WORK IS A MENAGE OF LIFE, EXPERIENCE AND CREATIVE ENERGY AND MY LANDSCAPES, FLORALS, PORTRAITURE AND EXPRESSIONIST ABSTRACTS ALL REFLECT THE VIBRANT COLORS OF MEXICO. 

I have resisted the temptation to attend classes as I don't want my own expression to be colored by other artists' ways of working.  This has probably slowed down the technical skilled/ learning that classes give, but my own voice remains untainted and the energy I give my work, I hope, makes up for that one aspect of painting expertise.

I STILL SPEND SEVERAL MONTHS EACH YEAR IN MEXICO, THOUGH WE NO LONGER OWN THE GALLERY AND THE REST OF THE TIME I SHARE STUDIO SPACE AT THE OXFORD ST. STUDIO  IN WHITE ROCK, B.C.

This link to ongoing stories of my Baja artist life

 http://hubpages.com/profile/2nd+Storey+Gal