Artwork by Cathy Sparks
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Artist’s Summary
I am a collector of images: some just in my mind’s eye, others through a camera lens. Each image is stored “for future use” and then revisited in an attempt to create something new and unique. I experiment with a variety of media and enjoy the discovery of the process, making choices both intuitively and analytically as I work. I relish the surprises along the way.
As such, I feel that I enter into a collaboration with my chosen media and materials as I work. They place constraints on the pace and the process. Their properties, along with my vision, dictate the final outcome. To me, this interplay acts as the fundamental tension that drives my creative practice.
I create representational works (nature, landscape, still-life, figurative, etc) and more abstract pieces. I like to work with intense colors and contrasts. I am drawn to the early works of Kandinsky, Matisse, Van Gogh, and others who, though often choosing recognizable subject matter, did so with unique color choices and styles.
On a more practical and chronological level, I am coming back to my art later in my life. I studied it in college but ultimately spent 35+ years teaching mostly French, traveling and living abroad, and then helping other new teachers begin their careers. That, and raising 2 amazing daughters, took most of my time, so I did not come back to producing art until my retirement.
My work is an evolving journey and I’m determined to enjoy the ride.