My paintings are for me the journal of how I see the world. In my world, light takes on vibrant hues, buildings glow, gray horses become blue in clear luminous light, angels and birds and heavenly beings appear, stars sparkle in the sky, day mixes with night and people take on the most beautiful personas that are within them. My paintings reflect a world of peace and harmony--of love and faith and celebration.
More than anything, I feel that I am not painting these paintings for me - they are for you - they are for the world. If I can paint something that can open up feelings in another person, make them smile, feel love, deepen their faith, or give them a glimpse of the beauty that is still in the world-then I think I have done my job. In short, what is important to me is what you see in them.
I am a self-taught artist. I started painting in October of 2003 after thirty some years of procrastination. My ability to paint came as a spontaneous gift, and since that time I have painted over two hundred paintings. Outside my studio is my garden bursting with much of the color and life that inspire my paintings. I grew up splitting my time between the Southwest and the Deep South. I have also traveled extensively in Latin America. All of these places have left deep impressions on my soul and have great impact on my art. I find myself exploring and re-exploring themes of motherhood, expressions of faith and the faithful, the roles and archetypes of women, the simplicity and grace that can be found by working the earth with your hands, the bounty of harvest, and the history of these beautiful places. I enjoy using the stronger lines, colors and forms that so beautifully represent the vitality and richness of these cultures.
My goal now is to keep painting and to broaden my ability to share my art and to communicate the passion and joy that I try to embed into every painting.
About
“The Fairest of
All”:
Mary’s spirit lives inside all of us, even those who have not yet
found her in their hearts. She is the calming mother we can go to in our
secret talks alone with ourselves and in prayer when nothing we are doing
is working out, when family or parenting problems tear at our hearts,
or when, we as women, feel lost. Always she is there for us.
After spending hundreds of hours peering into the eyes of The Blessed
Mother, one cannot help but to be changed. First, I came to admire her
courage.
As I paint each new painting, I don’t
always know if that painting will turn out or not, if it will have that
special spark or not. But, Mary's example has taught me to walk forward
in faith. I believe there is a purpose to my work; I believe God knows
whom this painting is for and what will be needed to touch their heart.
I need to just trust in him and do my best and leave to him the rest.
"Sometimes I get sort of 'instant images' of Mary in my head. I've had this image show up multiple times. While driving the other day it occurred to me that I 'knew' this image from somewhere and then realized where. Snow White—a book I had as a child that my mother used to read to me all the time. Still driving and thinking, it occurred to me how many similarities there were between the story of Snow White and Mary. Anyway I came home, typed Snow White and Mary on Google and ran across your own site with the write up about this very issue. Very interesting. Anyway, so I guess this painting is for the little girl in me who will probably always think of Mary as the Snow White and perhaps for all the other little girls."
View Snow
White and Mary Article
See also:
Is there
Marian Imagery in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?
Virtual
gallery, www.udayton.edu/mary/Oliver/Virtual_Gallery1.html
The Marian Library Gallery
Seventh floor of Roesch Library
Monday–Friday 8:30 AM–4:30 PM
To make special arrangements call 937-229-4214
Free and open to the public
This page is maintained by The Marian Library/International
Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390.
It was created by Scott Hofmeister and last modified on 06/16/2009 by
Cindy Osborne.
Please send any comments to jroten1@udayton.edu