Beth Whitehead : Finding Inspiration in Nature
Paintings with Heart
Beth Whitehead : Finding Inspiration in Nature
Meridian artist Beth Whitehead has turned a hobby into a side art and design business . She said she looks to nature to find inspiration for her work and finds joy in creating art .
Story and Photos By Glenda Sanders
Meridian artist Beth Whitehead looks toward nature to find much of the inspiration for her beautiful hand-painted works of art .
“ I start with the colors . My colors are more light and soft ,” she said . “ I walk a lot at Bonita and walking out there , being in nature , the beautiful colors , the sky , the blues , the greens , I love the blues and the greens , but a lot of my inspiration comes from my walks and from being outside .
“ So I come back from being outdoors , and my work just goes from there ,” she added . “ Most of the time it starts out as abstract , and then by the end it has multiple layers , and sometimes it ’ s something totally different from what I even thought . A lot of my work is responding to what colors and shapes are already on the canvas .”
A self-taught artist who has only been painting for the last several years , Whitehead is finding her groove with contemporary abstract art , largely using shapes , colors and forms to achieve her vision . With timeless appeal and open to interpretation by the viewer , abstract art is becoming increasingly popular these days and can be found hanging on walls from living rooms to offices to baby nurseries to girls ’ dorm rooms .
She also , more recently , has started venturing into landscapes though she still prefers using her pastel colors in her work .
“ It brings me joy to do my paintings , and it makes me thankful and grateful just to be able to share them with others and make other people happy ,” she said .
For someone who did not grow up as an artsy child , the self-taught Whitehead seems to have discovered her inner talent and appreciates the time she can spend in her studio .
“ I just love it . I can be up there in my art studio for hours ,” she said . “ Like I can start on a piece and I can get lost in the the paint , the colors , or what I can
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