I am inspired by life.  I search to find the beauty all around me in both my natural physical environment and the people I meet and interact with.  Landscapes and portraits are painted from photos I've taken.  My process is to flip through my photo album and find a photo that inspires me.  I then immediately start painting and I experience that place or moment once again.  I remember why I took the photo in the first place, what moved me, what I found breathtaking and beautiful that prompted me to capture the image on my camera.  I do not sketch or plan my composition, once I am feel the inspiration and beauty of that moment, I tape up the photo to my easle and begin painting!

Portraits are extremely enjoyable to do.  I attempt to capture the mood and very being of the individual at one particular moment.  I paint their protrait and then capture the essence of that person's being onto canvas demonstrating how carefree that individual is at that moment, reserved, curious or whatever.

My inspirations are John William Godward, John William Waterhouse, Edouard Manet, Gustov Klimt, Edgar Degas, Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso.  I love how Godward captures the beauty of woman in flawless detail showing that the simplest pose or look can be of great beauty with the right composition.  Waterhouse inspires me to imagine and play with the unreal.  Manet I admire for his strong use of color and boldness, I too like to be bold.  Klimt's works have a mysterious feel to me with their main figure surrounded by patterns and gold which seem to add depth and dimension to a portrait.  I much admire Degas for the wide range of subjects and his continous dedication to learning his craft copying classic paintings to learn new techniques far after most painters would feel it was beneath them.  I am a self taught artist and have learned by copying, copying and more copying.  Van Gogh reminds me to have fun with color and Picasso inspires me to look at a subject in a different light and then express that subject/person/idea in a new way.

 - H.E.Jangraw