"Living in the Bay Area keeps me around water all the time. I chose to move here 15 years ago for many reasons but a couple of them being the weather that keeps me outdoors daily and the constant access to the views of the water. I cross the Golden Gate Bridge every day and am in awe of the Pacific Ocean and the Bay which all of us live around and treasure. San Francisco is a city, but it feels like a town. It is approachable, sophisticated and full of the greatest light. Every day I can see the horizon line around me and breathe in the sky and the ocean. I am blessed for that. I can paint in the studio, head downtown to see an exhibition and wrap up my afternoon with a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and a hike in the Marin mountains. My studio is blocks from the ocean. I paint indoors but every time I am outside, I capture a feeling that I want to express on canvas. We live within an hour of the wine country where I find inspiration for my fields, trees and rolling hills. I love the east and west coasts for many of the same reasons and both influence me immensely. I love the history and rugged coastline of the east coast where I grew up and I love the open and wildness of the west coast where I have settled."
Tjasa - Your description of San Francisco makes me want to take the next flight west! I live in New York City. When you moved to San Francisco 15 years ago did your painting style change?
ReplyDelete- Catherine Anderson
Catherine- Thanks for your note!
ReplyDeleteMy full time painting career took off after I had moved to San Francisco. I had studies back East and in Europe for years, but my first studio and hours of painting for exhibitions began here. I come back East every summer as I am so inspired by the Atlantic Coastine, but I return West to the big open spaces, the accessibility to nature year around and basically "being" in one of my paintings all the time. When I was living in NYC, I was painting more collage forms, smaller, on paper and limited in my space to paint both physically and mentally I think. Are you a painter? You should come for a trip out to the Bay Area. It touches many people. Warm regards, Tjasa