Artist Statement

Growing up in the Great Smoky Mountains, with it's amazing variety of flora, fauna and geological wonders instilled in me a love of the natural world. Although I spent much time in outdoor activities and liked to draw and paint, my commitment to seriously attempt to capture the beauty of God's creation came after a move to the Rocky Mountains, another area of great beauty.

The process of making art, collecting information in the field, developing it in the studio combines much frustration and even greater joy. The realization that one can never learn everything offers a huge challenge. I comfort myself with the quote: "The grace to be a beginner is the best prayer for the artist."

Though I paint for the sake of painting, there is also a sense of mission; The greatest tragedy of the human species is that our very existence threatens the natural world. I long to preserve it, at least the memory of our vanishing environment.

Brooks Powell