So Where Did You Start?

My parents gifted me with a home darkroom kit for my 11th birthday. The “fascination” that created has been with me ever since.

My mother was the family photographer, she kept volumes of family photos, those photos told a story of how we lived our lives. I fell in love with capturing moments in time and loved that I could do the same, tell a story of how my family lived our lives.

I think I got my inspiration from my father who always had an old Kodak Brownie camera which he used to take a lot of family photos.

When I was in my early teens I was given my own camera and used to go to the library to take out as many books on photography as I could find.

As I got older and went to University then on to work in a busy career I only used to take photos when I went on holiday.

My love of cars was sparked by my older brother’s interest. Then after watching Bullitt and Steve McQueen I became obsessed with American cars. I got myself a Mustang and started going to American car shows here in the UK but I ended up with so many photos I started looking for a place to sell them. That’s when I found Fine Art America and the rest is history!

I started many years ago with an Olympus Trip camera that I got as a Christmas present from my parents, later moving to a Nikon FM SLR when I started work after leaving school, updated several times with new models and gathering various lenses before eventually going digital in 2008.

As far back as I can recall I was always fascinated with the family picture albums. As a child when visiting my grandparents the first thing I would do is run to the room with the picture albums. My grandmother joked that I will get all the albums after her death and will be the keeper of family history. She wasn't wrong. She was from Odessa, Russia (now Ukraine) and the images were fascinating to me.

Later on, in my 20's I developed a love of nature. I felt I just had to capture what I was seeing. I didn't want to paint nature I needed to photograph it. So I purchased a SLR Pentax film camera. (BTW, my dad was also very interested in photography and in his youth and got the first camera the Zeiss Ikon.)

I moved on to digital cameras. I'm not really a serious photographer in the sense that I'm not into the technical aspects of photography. I used a point and shoot camera for a long time. The camera is not so important to me. What I love is the photo editing process.

These are fabulous, Starting in photography is an exciting journey that allows you to capture moments and tell stories through images. I have taken courses but my dyscalculia seems to have stopped me 'getting it' I have tried and tried and have now given up so keep it on auto LOL

You all have built up your skills and are now amazing at what you do

I always enjoyed taking photos. In the beginning it was mostly just to capture moments, not anything someone would put on a wall. I had a 1990s small Olympus point and shoot film camera that I would take on trips. I still have that camera today.

It was around 2009ish, my boss had bought a Canon S60 and asked if I'd play around with it and figure out how to shoot manually. So I read the manual of the camera and looked up a few online tutorials. I took the camera out into the city to try some long exposures. I didn't have a tripod so I would place the camera on benches, walls, my bike seat, whatever and use the timer to eliminate shake from hitting the shutter button. The first car trail I captured really grabbed me because before that I didn't know how shots like that were created. Shortly after I bought my own camera and that really started me off. By 2013 I bought my first DSLR, a Nikon D5100 and a few years later a Nikon D750.

My 8th grade teacher, Mrs. McCabe, suggested to my parents that I try out for the High School of Music& Art

My parents response, "Whatever...Whatever he wants"

After passing the requirements, I was on my way

And for those 4 years, I THRIVED


I wonder whether parents of kids today, living where I lived, are allowing their 14 year child to commute an hour and half, each way, from the security of the suburbs to the bowels of the city (NYC).

My social life, during that time, was on the A Train

I was always an artsy little kid. Took art lessons, loved to paint and draw. Had aspirations of becoming a professional artist. Had a mentor who used to do commercial work, did the Super Bowl posters for many years.

Life throws some curve balls and as a young adult I started having tremors. That pretty much put a screeching halt on my dexterity and painting. Had another mentor who was a photographer and in my early 20s I purchased my first camera, an Olympus. Been taking pictures ever since. Photography is more forgiving, if I am shaky, I just shoot with a faster shutter :)

Tremors have improved a lot and now I am back to painting. Learning all over again and my medium I am working with at least to start is watercolor. In some respects it is more forgiving. Right now I am putting out 1st grade level paintings. Maybe one day I will offer some for sale right here.

Don't give up your dreams, learn to adapt. Now I paint with light.

My dad was an artist so I guess that kind of seeped into me.But I got kicked out of art class in high school for acting up too much so my art career got sidelined for decades.

I bought my first little camera when I was a teenager. Took mostly photos of birds and flowers. That camera was stolen when I hitched across Canada at age 20. (A crazy story...lesson learned: don't ever hitchhike!)

A photographer boyfriend bought me my next camera but took it back when I split up with him. (Lesson learned: cut your losses when it's time to move on and get your own stuff!)

Bought a second-hand camera when I went to film school at Simon Fraser University in my late 30's. Took lots of artsy photos but was more drawn to nature photography. Quit film school eventually, went to another university for creative writing but quit that too.

Moved to the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia and got into nature photography (mostly wildlife) big time. Joined Flickr, then some other PODs, quit them, then landed here at FAA 10 years ago. All this time I was honing my skills on Photoshop and various programs.

Years ago I got back into painting and started combining my photos with my artwork. The game changer for me was the day I bought an iPad and discovered Procreate.

Last Christmas a mystery fan gifted me with $220 in gift certificates at a local art supply store. I bought all kinds of paints and inks to experiment with and I've been working on that as well as continuing with digital art.

For me, experimentation is key. Keeping it fresh, keeping myself interested.

I've always had a great love for the outdoors. Because I would spend a lot of time quietly doing outdoor activities, fishing, hunting, paddling, hiking and such, I would often witness beautiful sunrises and sunsets, wildlife activity, and natural beauty in general. I would always think how cool it would be to get into photography so I could share some of the fascinating things I saw with others.

At some point I read an article in a fishing magazine about how to take better photos with the fish you catch, and my photos of friends and I and fish really started to improve. Of course I was just using those disposable 35mm film cameras, and mostly taking photos of catches or sometimes a friend fishing in a nice landscape. Once I got a digital camera, I started to take more nature oriented photos, and started to learn more and more about how to improve my photography.

For me, my art and my chosen medium are mostly about sharing the beauty and wonder of nature.

Art was not part of my upbringing. Like most kids I had art classes in school, but at home it was considered a waste of time. It was frowned upon to spend a lot of time on such useless activities. To me however art represented freedom. My dream was to become a photographer and travel the world, escaping the one I was living in. I did not find my way to art right away. Only as an adult still working in a profession chosen for me art found me. The little voice in my head did not quiet until it got the attention it deserved.

There are many artists on my Mother's side of the family. She painted, and so did both her parents. I was so lucky to have had a Mother who would take my sister and me to art museums as often as she could. The arts were just a normal part of our lives. I don't remember not being an artist and never felt like I had to grow up to become one.

I have always drawn for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I loved comic books, and would not only draw my favorite Marvel superheroes, but created my own characters. My parents were very encouraging and sent me to art classes at the College of Art and Design when I was very little. I received my first camera, a polaroid instamatic when I was in elementary school, and was immediately hooked. "Yaeger Typesetting Company" was a generational family business, then employing 3 shifts of people producing advertisements, books, magazines, and a variety of other hard print publications. It seems as though fonts, graphics, and design is in my blood. Aside from the glass bottle soda machine, (where you could get a bottle of pop for a dime!), I was most connected to the photographic areas.

Early high school, I took private drawing lessons, and was still drawing all the time, or active in sports. My dad died my junior year of high school, which made me look at life in a different way. Sports, drawing, and girls were what got me through that difficult time (not necessarily in that order). At that time, I had no idea what a portfolio was, so I took many original works and was accepted to University. I earned a bachelors degree in fine art after transfer to another college, and an associate degree in architecture. This included painting, drawing, ceramics, a little sculpture, and some work with the theater. My motorcycle was my only mode of transportation at the time, so I used it to carry a life-size sculpture to a show.

I began my work career at a local University, "getting my foot in the door" as a draftsperson, drawing up architectural designs for campus renovation projects. I discovered a niche in Computer Aided Design (CAD) and built up the CAD department from scratch to a small team of 10 people, responsible for mapping, project tracking, cad, and a lot more. I had wonderful access to incredible resources, a budget that let us discover and play with new technology/equipment. I was asked to make short 10 to 15 minute films, ranging from customer expectations to entertaining and featuring a large division of 1000 plus diverse personnel. This enabled me to do some green screen work in a film studio, which was incredibly fun!

Early retirement called my name, and I decided to start focusing on a second career in art and photography. Sketchbook, painting, life drawing, photography.
And now tattooing might be entering the picture...

I was a graphic design major in college, and had to take a photography class as a requirement. I developed my first roll of film and was hooked. My initial inclination was to become a sports photographer, which I did for about 15 years. As I traveled for that work, I began photographing the places I went and that led to a greater interest in landscapes and such. And here I am. That's the Reader's Digest version, anyway.

Always liked photography and I needed a good excuse to get outdoors and live a healthier lifestyle, so it seemed like a good pairing.

We were also planning our 2018 trip to Walt Disney World and I wanted to bring a real camera along after seeing a lot of great photography done inside the parks. I got some excellent advice from photographers on a Disney World photography forum. I picked up a used Sony A6000 with a couple kit lenses, a book on the exposure triangle and the rest is history.

I was born into a photography family. My dad, grandpa, great-grandpa, and several uncles were all professional photographers. In my generation, I have multiple cousins who went into the profession. All of them were/are portrait and wedding photographers.

Growing up, I helped my dad in the studio. When it came time for college, he begged me not to go into photography. I ended up getting a degree in interior design, and I worked in the design field for 16 years and never once touched a camera or even thought about it.

My husband went back to school in his mid-30s for a career change, and when he graduated, we moved three hours from home. We were only there 18 months when the hospital he was working at sold, and with the new management, the job he loved became unbearable. For him to change jobs meant, we would have to move again.

One of our dearest friends in the new city had been a medical traveler before taking a full-time position at the same hospital my husband was working. We had been intrigued by all her travel stories, and she put my husband in touch with the travel company she had worked with. After one conversation with them, we both quit our jobs, packed up everything we owned, and moved back home so we could travel.

Ironically, it was my dad who pushed us to buy a camera since he wanted to see our travels. From there, it took me three years to become entirely consumed by photography when I discovered HDR and Peter Tellone's blog about realism in HDR.

Peter's blog is no longer up, but he is here at FAA.

When I was about 10 years old (a very long time ago) my dad took me outside into the garden to expose a black and white negative from a Kodak Sterling film camera (the type with a folding bellows!) onto photographic paper, using a contact frame. We then went inside, took the photographic paper out of the contact frame and put it into a dish containing 'developer'. I was mesmerised as an image started to appear on the paper which after a minute or two was put into another dish containing 'fixer'. And that's where it all started. I am now the proud owner of that Kodak camera as it reminds me of how I started in photography (its always been a hobby, not a profession), and more importantly, it reminds me of the man who gave me a life long interest, that also keeps me busy in retirement (when not doing 'digital art').

My dad was an artist and an art teacher. He would bring home different types of graph paper and I would create graphical designs on it. I took a few art classes in high school, but never thought much about it, as I pursued math and science as an engineer. In 1985, the August issue of Scientific American had an article about the Mandelbrot set fractal. The article included some pseudo code and I implemented it in FORTRAN. From there, I was hooked and started developing my own fractal formulas and coloring methods.

...

My mother, Jacqueline Daugherty, gave me the "gene" of art appreciation. It was her love of drawing and oil painting. As a child she escaped into these realms after her families estates in France were confiscated by the occupation of Germany during World War 2. Growing up in Nice, a very artistic community helped inspire her. She had to live a dream.

In 1991 I opened a gift store. It had the ambience things such as candles, hand made porcelain silk flower arrangements, fragrance and the like. I began to bring in Jacqueline's art. It sold well. I then started into Limited Edition Canvas works from Thomas Kinkade, Marty Bell, Dennis Patrick Lewan, Alan Maley, Jack Terry, and so many more. We quickly expanded to three separate galleries. Alas, this format for presenting art took a beating when the 2009 recession crash hit. This inspired me to pick up a camera and learn digital means of enhancement to make photography. Along the way I've managed to create some pen and ink drawings. Even sold some of my oil paintings too!

It's been mildly successful. The journey has been fun. Planning vacations and traveling has taken on a different meaning. Met lots of interesting people along this road. I'm always looking to do it better.

My mother is still going at 93. https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/glenn-mccarthy?tab=artworkgalleries&artworkgalleryid=1089288

I started in photography as an offshoot from video. I loved filming nature scenes and animals and doing short videos. My video camera could also take stills and I found myself starting to get more interested in that and eventually purchased a DSLR and the rest is history lol. I still do video but photography is my main passion :)

I really think I was born with the artist heart. I never wanted to be anything but an artist even though I did have to wait tables most of my life to support my kids. But from the time I can remember when I was little and still using crayons I would draw all over all my books in anyplace there was a blank spot. Even my peanuts books, I vandalized them with my own art all around Charlie Brown and Snoopy.

I was that weird kid that would rather go the art museum than the skating rink.

For most of my life as a waitress I could not afford art supplies to properly hone my skills but I also could not afford gifts for family at holidays, so I would use cheap enamel paints from car model sets and paint on flower pots and small wooden trinket boxes then give them away. I also practiced drawing with ink pens on school paper and napkins that I brought home from the cafe's I worked at.

Later in my life in my forties, my oldest daugher gave me a fuji finepix camera and I had a blast learning to use the macro lens. Then I got my first iphone in 2010 and got on Instagram from there I started making art on my phone and posting my photos. Then I got a laptop and started making digital art using my photos and Gimp. Someone on IG suggested that I post some stuff for sale and that is when I learned about POD sites and started at two of them before eventually also adding this site to the list.

And that is how I ended up here. I love being able to sell my art but creating it is my passion and my therapy even if it never sells. Happily I have had some success with sales here and there.

I was the youngest of three boys but the youngest sibling was my sister. We were all separated by 18 to 22 months. Whenever I tried to play sports with my brothers, they always made me stay away saying I was too young. Overall, it didn't help that I was extremely thin, flat-footed, and introverted. I ended up being a loner, which often led to board-em.

I think I inherited some artistic ability from my mother although she didn't draw or paint. I used to trace everyday objects in mid-air with my finger and connected that with the ability to draw. When I was young, my oldest brother got a Jon Gnagy drawing kit. When he tired of it and ignored it, I took it over.

Eventually during Summer Vacation, my dad occasionally brought home items from the private boys school he worked at as a Maintenance Foreman in Middletown, DE. Through that I got my first oil and acrylic paints and even some tempera paints.

I did one of those drawing "contests" of a dog I found in a magazine and got a visit from an art scout. It forced me to think hard about deciding if I should go to art school. It seemed that it was all geared toward becoming a commercial artist. That didn't sound like something I wanted to do so I turned it down.

I continued trying to develop my art skills by drawing and painting. In my mid thirties, I decided it was time to buy a house and quit renting an apartment. The 2-bedroom apt was filled with paintings and drawings I had done. I also did my own framing and matting. When I decided to buy a house, I had to come up with a down-payment so I took all my art to my work location and sold it for around 10 to 20 dollars each.

Somewhere along the way, I picked up photography. This eventually lead to me taking a local Black and White photography and film darkroom course from a photography shop near by. At the end of the course I had decided while I was still living in an apartment that it would be too much of a hassle to set it up and take it down all the time as would have been required in an apartment.

I've always been drawn to the odd or unusual. One day I was looking online for images of optical illusions. This connected me to the world of 3D stereo. When I found out that anyone with a digital camera could do 3D stereo images, I joined some online groups and quickly learned about it from people all over the world. It was the main reason I joined Fine Art America. After joining FAA however, I gradually determined they weren't very much interested in 3D stereo. Consequently, I slowly started focusing back to 2D images. Around The same time, I started developing my processing and digital manipulating skills. Some of which I got a taste of in 3D stereo. It was not a secret to me that 2D, 3D, drawing and painting were all related in certain ways and they all helped to train my "artist's eye".

I have many hobbies and interests and sometimes I can't juggle them all at once. I've learned to lay some things down in order to face new challenges. I've put down my pencil and brush for now, so I can concentrate mainly on digital art and images. Still learning, still with a desire to improve.

Thanks for taking the time to read... unfortunately, something I've never had much desire to do. You might say, I'm a picture person. :)



IMAGES - The first language! (It's universal)

Artfully yous,
Brian Wallace

The company I worked for had an office in Wyoming. So I took a job there and moved from Wisconsin in 1982. I fell in love with the mountains and scenery and decided I needed to buy a camera and record what I was seeing. I ended up moving back to Wisconsin and the photography somewhat took a hiatus when we had kids. A niece was getting married and I got the blessing from my wife to get a digital camera and the photography bug hit me hard and is still going strong.

My sister talked me into taking a little point and shoot type camera for my second trip to Europe...I had no intentions of taking a camera. Well, that lead to my interest in photography. I found that traveling with a camera enhanced the overall travel experience. I wish I had the opportunity to get back to Europe with my current camera skills, but I've been there 4 times, and I am grateful even if I never get back there.

Like Bill's 1st post, I was 10-11 when my dad brought up a small box of B&W film developing stuff from somewhere down in the basement storage area (that I'd never seen before), and we developed a roll of 35mm film in the bathroom. I still recall the magic of seeing those little images held up to the light when they were first unrolled from the developing reel.

Born to it: encouraged by the family, from age 4 (from memory), firstly to create Greetings to them all, with Mother's
beautiful paper doilies, in those days........painted, cut, ...all to 'keep me quiet' : a restless child, full of inquisity, and,a
'trial' !! From there, to music: violin, piano, lessons: concerts at Carnegie Hall, NYC, b/c that was our Family: 'we'
seem to have inherited our "talent" from our Grandfather William (image here:Family collection).....then , on to more
Art/grade school; then? late teens, awakening to hand Art.........a saga of 80 of my 85 years....

To add: 'Design' must run in the blood: my experience: I became a dedicated seamstress! thanks to Grandpa, and my
Aunty Rose, supremely creative with the needle......from my experience with her: I made most of our Jane's formals,
for school occasions; all of my maternity clothes, Jane's too.......son Fred's first Blue Blazer......years ago, of course,
and to this day, my heart sings for these joyous pursuits , opportunities !! memories.........................

The Camera !! saved my sanity, when tremors stopped the drawing/painting; so instead, lol, I shook the camera, and
'owned' my 'style', winkwink.

"No one can make you feel inferior without your
consent."....Eleanor Roosevelt.......

I was born into a family of photographers, which meant they had a certain understanding for my prolific shooting back when film development was a costly 1-out-of-26 gamble, as well as a stash of lenses I could put on my camera (save me the macro! - I discovered my common themes pretty early on)! I've had some formal training, but really, I've just always had a camera in my hand, and I think that makes the difference. I captured the world as I see it, preserved memories, and created all sorts of photographs long before I was getting paid for it, and I'll continue to do so long after I've decided I no longer want to get paid for it.

My immediate and extended family's creative talents also extend to writing, acting, clothing design, vocal and instrumental music, needlework, fiber crafts, woodwork, and painting, etc., so I've had no lack of artistic outlets to try on and cycle in and out of in the course of my life. I feel very grateful to have had such a well rounded creative upbringing.

Bizarrely, I recall wanting to be a TV cameraman from an early age, and then using my mum's old Agfa 135 for some poorly composed macro efforts. Fast forward over 30 years to a different career and buying my wife a digital camera in 2007 spurred me forward to take up photography again.

Stumbling across you guys on FAA over a decade ago has also provided amazing inspiration, I have to say!

As a little girl, I was fascinated watching my Dad sketch his designs at the kitchen table with a ball point pen. He was a tool maker and jewelry designer. I loved his zodiac collection, charms, and his Bald Eagle belt buckle. My Mom often doodled designs of clothing for my sister and I to color and create patterns on with our crayons.

I took some art classes in high school and in college. I majored in nursing, but art was always a passionate hobby I turned to in my free time. Pastels and charcoals were my favorite. I also worked in acrylic and watercolor taking some classes in my spare time when my daughter was young.

Art followed me into my nursing career in ways I never thought it would. When I worked in psychiatry, I did arts and crafts groups with the patients as an evening activity after the medication pass was completed. I remember how creative we had to be with decorating the unit Christmas tree with paper only. I loved doing art with the patients.

When I took a job for Tiffany & Co. the Jeweler as an occupational health nurse I had to change a large cork board every month with a different wellness theme and I had to make it look very appealing. I used art and nursing combined to create an eye catching board to draw attention to the theme. That was so much fun!

I worked for a health insurer and had to formulate care plans for those with health illiteracy and became very creative with clip art to help one understand elements of their care plan. The insurer used them as templates because they were very colorful and were pleasant to look at.

I had to retire from nursing unexpectedly after 32 years, and after working 50+ hours a week of using my mind to problem solve, my mind was now left to figure out what to do. Art now became my go to but on a totally different level. I dove in to keep my mind active. It provided soothing comfort during one of the worse times in my life.

My art changed from traditional to digital when I bought an iPad in 2018 with the app Procreate. I experimented with taking photos of my traditional art and putting it into the program to learn. I still learn. Next thing I knew, I became fascinated with the digital world of art. The Edit This contests really helped me learn so much about digital edits. Thank you, Abbie for these contests that opened up creativity in a whole new way for me. Still learning and loving it!

During my high school and college years, I caddied at a country club where Arthur Beck, an acclaimed commercial food photographer was a member. He was a nice guy and I was intrigued by his profession. Bought a Pentax Super Me in the mid 1980's when I was in my 20's and drove the California Coast from LA to San Fran. Those experiences ignited my interest to be a photographer.

My late father was an amateur artist in drawing, brush and ink, watercolor, wood carving, and fishing rod thread wrapping. A book I discovered in our home @ age 10 --"Animals Without Backbones" authored by Ralph Buschbaum was illustrated in scratchboard (exceptional iconic art indeed!) by his sister Elizabeth Buschbaum Newhall who trained @ the Art Institute of Chicago in the late 1920's and unfortunately died in 1941. This lead me down my path to Medical and Biological illustration where I have been teaching and illustrating in the graduate program of Art as Applied to Medicine @ Johns Hopkins -- now for 37 years. I am trying to undertake a biography on Elizabeth. How the world goes round and round-----I send my best, Tim

These are fascinating! Thank you!

In 1974 Randall was asked to go on a hunting trip out to Colorado so He thought it might be a good idea to buy a good camera, he says it was one of the best decisions he ever made.
He was able to capture images that were soon displayed on many office and restaurant walls around the area. He has been fortunate enough to travel to every state with the exception of Alaska, and had that planned but the Pandemic ended that trip. I'm self taught he says and studied all the best photographers From Ansel Adams forward.
His main interest lies in Landscapes, nature, wildlife, farms, barns and the outdoors. He has a knack and the eye for bringing out the color and beauty presented to capture that moment in time that passes so quickly. Over the years he's been in many Galleries covering three states and his images hang on walls over the world from Croatia, Japan, Uk and many others. His Fine Art Prints are available on a variety of museum-quality, fine art substrates, including paper, canvas, metal and acrylic. You will be amazed at how a great photo stands out when printed directly on a metal surface where the ink can't soak into the paper, it will blow you away.
To view and explore the right print for your home, office, restaurant, or corporate office and pull together the right design and color scheme for your special place, just choose the right mat and frame size. If I can be of assistance please call or email me.

Nobody in my family is an artist and I started late. But when I was little I won a drawing competition at my school: each one of us was assigned to a window and we had to draw the view of the trees we could see through the window. I remember that I truly enjoyed it and found it very relaxing.
I also won some prizes in an other competition: a work of collage of photographs of our city.
And i used to enjoy painting geometric abstracts for my art lessons at school.

Edit: I don't have any of those paintings because my art teacher liked them and at the end of my exams she asked me if she could keep them.

I started in the arts throughg music. I was a founding member of the Lynchburg Symphony, here in Virginia many years ago and have played violin for over 65 years. I have two sisters who were art majors in college, one a twin to me, Like many photographers I began taking family photos, and vacation photos, work photos where I had to have some basic skills, but just with point and shoot cameras. I didn't know it at the time, but it would become a love affair.

Began with basic camera and upgraded every few years until I finally advanced to a dslr, which was upgraded again to Canon R5 two years ago. Traveling with other people my photos were always better than the people we were traveling with. Finally they stopped taking pictures and allowed me to be the official photographer for our vacation trips together. I love taking pictures, traveling, finding the artistry everywhere around me, but have been surprised to find I love the editing even more. As time has progressed I am spending more and more time on the editing process, learning new methods, experimenting. Great for this old brain I think.

For as long as I can remember I have had some sort of connection with beautiful photos capturing animals and landscapes. Every time I see one I’m drawn into a trance staring at all the details of a single photo. I came out of work one afternoon to a beautiful sunset over the farm. The suns rays shinning through the limbs of the single tree in the hayfield. The just bailed hailed not far from the side casting shadows on the ground. I stood there for what felt like forever until I realized I was staring at my very own “photo”. I quickly pulled out my flip phone (one of the first models with a camera) and snapped a picture. Right then I decided I wanted to take my own photos of the world we live in to capture another person’s attention. I still have the photo and to this day it reminds me of that beautiful sunset.

I've always been involved with the arts from as early an age as I can remember. Dance classes began at age 3 thru college and then as an adult I helped teach at my daughter's dance school. Developed a love for theatre that my parents started me in around age five. Attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York after high school. I grew up in the theatre - acting, choreographing, designing and directing. I would always be the person with a camera catching those special moments. I started designing posters for the theatre, church and various organizations.

I met my husband while performing in a professional production of Guys and Dolls. I played saxophone into my thirties, dabbled playing the piano. With my kids the dining room table was always available to create, paint and make a mess until everyone was smiling. I saved all the recyclables and the neighborhood children would spread it all over my living room to create unique musical instruments and then entertain the neighborhood.

Both my children became fabulous artists, actors, and designers. I loved redecorating my home and others. Creating art, any art, is just passion!

In 2011 I left a six figure career to go work for Disney as a photographer., Making peanuts I use to say. I learned so much there from so many fabulous photographers. Bought my own Nikon so I could learn more at home. The camera became a part of me. Heck I often would forget my purse when I left home, but never my camera. When we moved to Kansas City in 2013 I took a side gig taking photos at Kansas City Royals games and they forced me to learn how to use a Canon. Boy howdie that was hard for me to comprehend at first.

In 2014 I wound up homebound for a lengthy time recovering from Uterine cancer. It was a very long and depressing time. My hubbie bought me a new laptop and I started playing around and relearning Photoshop and messing with all the 1000s of pictures I had taken while living in Florida. It filled the creative void that I was missing in my life.

I discovered during this time that I NEED the arts in my life to be happy. I need to always be creating, performing, and entertaining. I need to help make people smile.... Including myself. CHEESE!

My grandmother did some watercolor and Dad was a mechanical engineer. I always loved drawing and coloring as a child. I didn't take an art class until I was a senior in high school and found I had a knack for it. When I got to college I was taking a variety of different things to try to figure out what to major in so I took drawing in my freshman year. I finally decided on art going into junior year but went with art education to please my parents. In college I was exposed to a wide variety of art media. I took ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, painting, and crafts then a whole semester of education related classes. Couldn't find a decent job after graduation but did work for a few months at a florist and later took classes to get a certificate in floral design, which I also enjoy. I also took film photography classes at Community College back in the late 80's. I find digital photography much more enjoyable. My favorite medium has always been soft pastel. I did learn to paint in oils but never really enjoyed it, especially the cleanup and solvents. I am not good at watercolor but would really like to find time to try to learn. I did learn to draw vector artwork on the computer a while back and enjoy creating repeat patterns and graphics although I haven't done much with that lately. I like the tactile nature of pastels and charcoal and enjoy blending with my fingers. A few years ago I made a resolution to create one finished piece of artwork per week and that has greatly improved my skills with drawing and pastel.

I've been consistently underemployed most of my life. My last formal job was in an accounting office for a group of hotels. That was a good job but I was laid off when the business consolidated its offices. I've been trying to make it as an artist for about a decade now in one form or another, but I am going to have to give it up because my sales are pretty much non-existent at most of my POD sites and I can't pay my bills.

I've always loved art and nature since I was small child, I started photograping nature and painting when I was a teenager "taking every class in high school I could get my hands on" , but then got busy with life, marriage, motherhood and put things aside! It wasn't until I was close to 40 years old and became quite ill with a severe case of lyme disease that left me unable to work and homebound that I picked up a camera and started photographing nature and then got back into canvas painting. Once computers came into play and the world of digital art that just opened another whole new can of worms for me and the rest is history!! I was hooked, joining FAA and allowing me to have a website and expand my creativity was one the best things that ever happened to me, I"m still growing and learning everyday!! It's a passion for me and not a just a hobby as some might say. It really brings me great joy and when I sell something whether big or small it touches my heart just to know that my work made someone else happy!! I actually just turned 60 a few days ago and I"m so excited to see what the future holds!!

Last year, while visiting my mom, and going through an old album, spotting a photograph of myself, in my preschool years, holding a toy camera. I had forgotten that when I was very little, I had begged my parents for a camera, just like a relative of ours had, who lived next door to us. She was constantly coming over and photographing us.

ART wasn’t something that my parents pursued, and considered a waste of time, even though my mother could play a 12-string guitar, to entertain her family on a Sunday afternoon. Keeping a roof over the family and food on the table was much more important.

One day coming home from school, after the heaviest snow storm on Canadian soil. To my surprise, as I got closer, my smile widen. Dad picked up his snow shovel, a happy look of satisfaction across his face. “Come on let’s see what’s for super.” Dad had just finished sculpturing, a snow statue of a man sitting on a snow block, facing the street, one could clearly see the man’s suit, short wavy hair cut, with facial expressions.

I bought my first camera, Kodak Instamatic X-15, in my late teens. I had more pictures of objects, then I had of my family. Later, I bought a 35mm Minolta camera, to photograph my children. ART was something, that I did encourage with my children. They have their own story to tell.

Before joining FAA, I voluntarily wrote a short bio on two (2) different artists, to help promote their work, both whom attended Sheridan College in Oakville, Canada, at different times. One of the artists, a painter & animator is still a member of Fine Art America. It is because of him, that I joined FAA.

I finally have a place to put my photography of objects.

One day in elementary school, our teacher asked us to draw something we might see out a car window. I picked up my crayons and drew a picture of two horses grazing in a field. It won a prize ribbon. Also in elementary school, we made Halloween masks using pre-made papier-mache face forms. All the other kids painted human features on their masks, but I put a long cardboard muzzle on mine and big fangs and pointed ears so that it looked like a scary wolf. All the teachers in the school came into the classroom and praised it. And once we students were asked to draw self-portraits. Mine actually looked a little like me, plus I was the only kid that drew my portrait in profile. A local art critic came in to look at the pictures, saw mine, and said, "That child will always be different."

So positive attention like that, the kind I never got at home, encouraged me to pursue art.

I’ve only read a few of these, but what great stories! Great thread Abbie! I have clicked to follow so I can come back to read more. :)

A guy name Russ Kinne had written a book about bird photography. It was the only book on the subject around in the early 90s. A copy was gifted to me and it had a message written to me. Something like "Brad, Good luck on your photo journey". I was a birder and all around naturalist and marine biologist at the time but did not own a camera. The person who gifted the book had mentioned I had a desire to do photography.

I had wanted to do photography for a long time but the equipment for wildlife photography was expensive. I was working on a project observing harbor seals in New York and the project director loaned me a Nikon N50. Once I got a taste I went right down to the camera store and bought the same camera. It was a 40th birthday present to myself. Nikon telephoto lenses were still out of reach for me but I bought a third party brand. I was already doing educational slide shows so now I had an audience. I started sending images to magazine and got published early on. Soon I was being asked for prints and then I bought a show tent and did shows on weekends. I always shot slide film back then because I was doing slide shows. But slides also made for very saturated archival color prints and were also what was preferred for publication.

I got to meet Russ a year or 2 after I bought my first camera. I showed him a print of a fluffy Snowy Egret. He said that is the shot of a lifetime. He said you have learned well and I have nothing more to teach you. In fact I still had much to learn, of course. Now over 25 years later, photography is a late life career. I have 3 Nikons now and an awesome collection of lenses and I even have my own page in a local monthly magazine.

When I was a little girl, my dad would bring home thin cardboard from his workplace (that were going to be thrown out) so I could draw on them. He was a watercolor painter/artist as a hobby and he encouraged me to draw and paint. Since we had horses, I would draw horses.

Growing up I kept up art influences in high school (like jewelry making and collage art) but then it went on the back burner as life happened. My family gave me a digital camera in 2010 and from there I developed photography skills and now also use my photographs to create graphic digital art as well, but I love to photograph flowers and nature most. I have painted some canvases and made sketches in the last few years, but I need so much more training in that area of my art life.

I joined FAA in 2011 but didn’t actually add much to my portfolio for many years, then as I got better, I added more images and now feel fairly capable to be among all of you talented people here.

My Mother was pre-med in college, but when she took the art elective class, the teachers had her take more classes and said she was so good, she dropped pre-med, and her Major was then switched to Art. She graduated and after her marriage to my Dad, who was in World War II and finally got home and was well, she became an elementary art teacher in schools where I grew up. That teaching led to her becoming a full time 1st grade teacher in a elementary school near us. Therefore, when I was little, I had paper and and a pencil or paints in front of me, both with my Mom and we had an easel in back of our class rooms in school, where we took turns panting in the back of the room. I ended up majoring in Education, Minor in Art in College. One of my classes was photography, and loved it as well as the painting. Was wonderful working in the dark room seeing what my old Canon or Olympus camera captured.

Wherever I have lived, traveled, or worked since then, I have painted and done photography and growing in both as I have gone through life, learning new techniques. Even when I was traveling with my jobs, I have taken my camera and sometimes my pads and pencils with me. It has been an awesome journey, as I have continued learning new techniques, styles and programs through the years that have further inspired me to learn and grow through the years.

I am looking forward to learning more as I am hoping that my artwork will develop in new and unique ways that will come forth in the future.

I was exposed to art in museums and wanted to paint but when I was given paints, nothing turned out and it still doesn't, but I love to paint lousy work.

When I was a young child, one of my Christmas gifts was a camera, and I’ve always loved photography ever since. With every passing day, I become more and more passionate about the great outdoors. My heart is so full when I see so many remote places, whether I’m on a hike in the mountains or simply walking along the riverbanks and farmlands. It’s totally exhilarating for me, and my greatest passion is to bring those images back to share with others. I want others to “see” the beauty of our rivers and waterways, and to “know” the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains where we live. I am extremely grateful that God has allowed me to capture these moments in time, to share these places with others who do not have the opportunity to see them. It brings me great joy when one of my photos brings a smile to someone’s face and warms the heart of someone who may never be able to see these places. That is rewarding for me. That passion of sharing has led me to photographing this gorgeous world we live in, and I pray my artwork will somehow be a small light in the lives of others.

My first exposure and influence to start my art journey was Dad drawing me WWII warbirds on napkins or pieces of scrap paper (he was an Air Force pilot). He was quite good at it. Although I never exactly acquired his level of interest in airplanes (in hindsight I wish I would have now) I became fascinated with cars and other motorized vehicles and began doodling them. (and designing new ones)

Later, not knowing what the heck I was going to do with life, I was steered toward Industrial Design by a college counselor, later graduating with a B.S. degree. (I often laugh at this). During that time, some of my influencers were my extremely talented instructors who, among other things, taught marker sketching and rendering and presentation techniques, along with premier Industrial designers like Raymond Loewy, artist / futurist Sid Mead and touring design firms such as Walter Dorwin Teague.

As time went on, I became disillusioned with the field and wanted more freedom to "blue sky." This was when computers were becoming the tool of choice and I jumped in with both feet to the point where I never do anything by hand anymore now. There was also a time when I stepped away for several years from doing any art at all, eventually returning to where I'm at now with digital abstract and my current fascination with Ai. A band wagon I've jumped on and off of since it began.

I lived near the beach as a teen in the 70s and was fanatical about surfing. One afternoon (Oct 20th, 1977), I arrived home from school to see perfect but tiny waves, lapping at the shoreline. I sat there mesmerized by these perfectly formed waves, wishing that I could shrink down to the size of a bug, so I could surf them. Then I remembered the crappy old plastic Kodak Instamatic camera that had been sitting in the back of the wardrobe for the past 2 years and so I ran home to grab the camera. Once back at the beach, I knelt down to get a low-angle perspective and squeezed off just one frame of film. When I got the film back from the processors, my friends were all amazed that there was no one surfing these perfect waves. For me, that's when the light bulb turned on in my head and I have made my living from being a surf photographer, ever since that day with more than 180 magazine covers along the way.
Of course, magazines have largely disappeared over the past 20 or so years and so, I have made my living since then, creating and selling art prints from my hefty image archive, from more than 45 years of being a traveling photographer.

I was born loving Nature…Beauty…and the desire to recreate it! My Aunt Jill gave me a magnifying glass on weekends as a default babysitting tool and for me, it worked. I spent HOURS marveling at the details I would see by LOOKing Closely. I still do. Each medium has a different texture, property, light reflective or absorbency and how that translates to the ever increasing variety of substrates is a never boring, always Amazing source of WONDERment, all these years later..:-) I joined FAA wanting to share my visions and find other glimpses of BEAUTY. I always get my daily glimpse of beauty here from fellow artists.

Mostly in high school, hated art but got stuck with an art class. Did not like it but had a terrible registration time and got stuck with two art classes the next semester... not sure why but something clicked and art became s big part of my life ever since.

As an illustrator. Turns out I preferred taking the photos of the things I was going to illustrate than actually illustrating them.

I started to draw in 10 months after I was born. In age 3, I started to paint using watercolor paints. I enjoyed reading newspapers with crosswords, poems and art news. Instead of reading books for kids because books for children were too-boring for me. I was best artist in kinder garden, then in school, then won 1st grand prize (that was space art competition in city with over 1.5M population)

My Dad was a very talented and creative artist in many areas of art. He did Commercial art, hand signage, silkscreening, carpentry, designing and creating furniture, caricatures, portraits, illustration and more. I was talented in art and loved it but was more into music. I sang in chorales, played the viola in orchestras through college and was a concert pianist and teacher. I never had time for art except for some fine art classes in college until a hand injury forced me to stop playing and rest it. I canceled upcoming concerts and took out my Dad’s supplies that I had inherited and kept in a closet for when I had time. I was an only child and he was my idol. When he died I kept all the tools he used.

I took out VCR Tapes of various art instructors and would keep my easel in front of the TV. I burnt out 5 VCRs because I would hit “pause” until I caught up with the instructor. Eventually, I created my own oil painting and entered it in a local art show. I won first place in oils and my new career was born. My hand healed but art took over my life and i never went back to the music. I also went back to school for art and studied various mediums and took workshops. I began selling pen and ink portraits of people’s homes, boats and pets. i did some magazine illustrations and did house portraits for realtors and builders advertising homes. We had a boat and I would take a watercolor set and paint at a local boater’s docking area with my husband and kids. I would sit on the boat and paint and people would buy them as I finished.

It was a very exciting time to find this new love in my 40’s and begin a new career. I went through all different mediums and workshops and eventually settled on oils as my favorite. I joined art guilds and had many one person and group shows including outdoor fine art shows. Sales were good and I won many awards. I was painting landscapes, seascapes and animals. Eventually, I realized that cats were the constant subject that I loved to paint. I always had cats in my life, sometimes dogs too and had lots of reference material.

I also loved photography and travelling where there were lots of opportunities to take pictures for reference or to sell. By this time I was also studying Commercial Art toward a degree in Art and Design when my husband convinced me to move from our home in Long Island, NY. to Florida. I continued at the Art Institute in Florida and I was studying Commercial Art as my Dad had but now computers were coming into play and I learned to do design and lettering by hand and also computers as they became more available. I learned the software design programs, etc. I took on jobs at printing companies preparing files for clients. I also worked at a coupon design company. At some point I applied for a job that was advertised as a temporary 4 month position for someone who knew Photoshop at the world’s largest carat gold jewelry manufacturer. I got the job and ended up becoming their Art Director and was there for 10 years.

I retired from there and went back to Art shows and painting and started selling on line. When the pandemic hit us I opened an Etsy Shop and became involved with a few PODs. I stick to online venues now as the few guilds I belonged to have closed and I can’t do the outdoor shows anymore. Exhibiting in one woman shows was nice but too much work. For now I’ll stick to licensing (would like to find more of them) and on line sales and keep painting.

I have always enjoyed art ever since I was little. I knew I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I loved drawing and painting, and had no idea I would become a full time photographer later in life. I majored in art in college to become an art teacher, and took some photography classes. I taught art for 9 years, and enjoyed taking photos of family and my garden.

When digital cameras came out my husband surprised me with my first digital camera in 2005 (to save on all those film prints filling my closet). I am so glad he did. It changed my life, and it was a beginning of an incredible journey with photography.

I left teaching to work with my husband in his growing car paint repair business. I worked on the repairs with him, did the bookkeeping, and customer service. Years later when we moved to Florida I spent more time with photography and worked hard at getting better. I took classes and went to photo clubs. When we moved to the other side of the state I could not find a photo club in my area so I looked online. That is when I found Serge Ramelli on Youtube. I joined his academy in 2018, and in 2020 I graduated from his Institute of Photography earning a Master of Photography. My work became much stronger with his training, and it helped increase my sales on FAA. I have been working with Serge in his academy and institute assisting him in teaching photography to thousands of students worldwide.

Years ago my husband had a serious health issue and it was scary. My photography helped me get through this rough time. My work ended up getting more powerful emotions in it and it was the beginning of my style. Thankfully my husband is ok now, and back then when we first learned he would be ok we decided to fulfill a big thing on his bucket list - to see Paris. So we put everything in storage to travel Europe a couple months. It was quite an adventure (not always easy), and when we came home my husband wrote a book about it called, "Vagabonds in France", and I illustrated it with my photos.

I live in Venice, Florida now and enjoy capturing the beauty of the coastlines and historic architecture here. I love this town, and I love Florida. Over the last few years my work has become more known locally and has been published a lot. It is because of the support of many locals that I was juried into FAA billboard contests and ended up winning the contest 2 years in a row.

My goal is to create images that bring a feeling of peace, and also spread the message of historic preservation to help protect the remaining historic architecture here in Florida.

Hurricane Ian really impacted my town last year so it took me away from my work for a while, but I am back now and have many more images I want to share with the world on FAA. It has been a great experience to be on FAA.

My story is a lot like Shelli's in the fact that it's something that seems to have been born in me. It's the only thing I can remember ever wanting to do. As a kid, I would sit for hours with my little watercolor set and q-tips and mix colors and create all sorts of things. By nine I started making series of works and scrapbooked them so I could have them for years to come (I still have those albums.)

I'm not entirely sure where the fine art bug came from, I do have a lot of creative people in my family who love to craft, but not anybody who draws and paints all that much. All I know is that it has always been my life's calling, and I'm grateful for that. Art has been my stability and kept my head on strait even though I didn't have a great up bringing.

In my youth I dated a man with a camera and I got hooked (on the camera, not the guy :-). I fell in love with photography and the ability to capture life on film.

Growing up, a younger brother seemed to be the one 'talented' in art; he was encouraged. I was good with 'numbers' and was encouraged in that direction. In high school, the art classes I wanted were always 'full'. Forward a dozen years post high school, now in a position to take a low paying job at a college and was able to be a textile design major at no cost. Things changed, had to find a 'real' job and so the design career was abandoned. Forward twenty years, I began taking adult evening classes in watercolor. This lasted about two years. Things changed again and this was put aside. Forward another dozen years, and again, I was able to take adult classes in watercolor. Which brings us to today.

During these years, I was fascinated with patterns and collected wrapping paper and fabric. But, I was also fascinated with numbers and their patterns; I guess there is some relationship there.

Note: my mother had an associate degree in fashion design; my father had a degree in electrical engineering. My paternal grandfather was an artist but only ten of his paintings remain. We know almost nothing about him; he died when my dad was five years old.