ARTIST + YOUTUBE'S
THE fearless DESIGNER
"Creativity is intelligence having fun." | Albert Einstein
Why I paint
I paint the huge expanses where the sky meets the land or water. I paint the places where I feel that humbling sense of awe that humans experience when before a place of tremendous natural beauty. Small and yet connected to something bigger and more beautiful than we realized. Working in acrylics I layer dozens of coats of paint, often watered down until I can play with how they cling to the surface. Boards, rolls of canvas, backdrop paper, bolts of fabric, I enjoy all the different textures as I search for large surfaces to paint on. I dream of painting in a field of canvas somewhere impossibly large like a cathedral or airplane hanger. Being half Greek I often wonder if it's generations of ancient genes or ancestors that draw me to aqua water and blue sky or maybe I keep painting where my soul feels most at peace.
Meet
Lily
I am a fourth generation painter. I am drawn to paint the liminal spaces where water and sky meet. My work is large. Huge when I have the opportunity of space and materials. There is something meditative and magical about painting so large that it requires your whole body to move. After twenty years as an Interior Designer, I keenly pay attention to how art changes how people feel in a space.
My history is part of who I am as an Artist.
Gilbert + Nora Smith
My Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother both graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Gilbert painted throughout his life, often en plein air, soft rolling landscapes. He opened an art shop in Vermont, and sold his work there. It was said that Nora, his wife, had been the more artistic of the pair, though she rarely painted. Perhaps it was an unanswered call to art or perhaps it was raising their ten children. As hard as it may be to change careers mid-life, her story inspires me to not let another day pass without painting.
Nadine
Synnestvedt
My Grandmother painted throughout her life despite being a teacher, mother of five and young widow. She painted extensively later in life. Loving travel, the sun and the ocean she often painted while abroad. I remember her as always reading The New Yorker, having a beautiful vegetable garden, being politically active, a supporter of civil rights and teaching Head Start. I use her brushes and easel daily and they are amoung my most dear posessions.
Nancy
Synnestvedt
Lives in New Zealand and is a retired Art Teacher and Painter. Everything about my Aunt is artful. Her home, the way she dresses, how creativity, projects, music and games follow her. She creates beauty and human connection everywhere she goes. I have love getting to paint along side her and most especially when we 'play' on the same canvas each building off the other's addition.
