Celebrating Dataw Artists – Tricia Gardner
This installment of Celebrating Dataw Artists features an accomplished artist who, while small in stature, is living large! Meet Tricia Gardner, one of the early members of the Dataw Visual Arts Club and an avid world traveler. The latter has allowed her to pursue her passion for art and see the wonders of the world at the same time.
by Marie Doyon and Bill Riski
Where are you from and what do you make?
My early years were spent in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. I graduated from Pennsylvania State University in Business Administration with a major in business and finance. I was the only female in the program then, having switched from a fine arts major.
Following graduation and a brief stint in Binghamton, New York, I moved to the Washington, DC area. After working in the private sector in research, communication, and financial management for three years, I began a 35-year career with the Federal Government, beginning with a Navy Internship Program in Acquisition Management. During this time, I also pursued graduate studies in Administrative Management at George Washington University.
Future positions included upper management roles at the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Library of Congress, and the Government Printing Office.
I retired from the latter agency as the Director of the Office of Information Resource Management. I was responsible for the Headquarters’ Computer Center and analysts in Washington, Telecommunications and its network in 17 regional offices as well as the IT liaison with Congress.
Perhaps one of the most rewarding projects of my career was working with The Congressional Task Force to Assist the Emerging Democracies in Eastern Europe. As their Contracting Officer, I acquired the infrastructure, computers, networks, and voting systems necessary to support a democratic government. My work took me to the former Eastern Bloc countries from the Balkans to the Baltic.
But after retiring, my focus was art and travel, primarily landscape painting in oils or sometimes gouache and acrylics.
How long have you seriously been pursuing art?
I have always been interested in art, and as I traveled extensively throughout my career, my sketchbooks and journals went with me. In addition, I sought instruction, inspiration, and camaraderie through evening classes and weekend workshops. I did not take art classes in high school because I was on the “college track.”
To this day, I continue to paint in art workshops in conjunction with my other passion – travel. I have painted in the deserts of the Southwest, the California Coast, and the East Coast from Maine to the Caribbean. I have made several painting trips to the coasts of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland, as well as the islands of Santorini, Sicily, Mallorca, Bahamas, and Cuba.
The Greek island of Naxos and its neighbors in the Mediterranean are my next painting workshop destinations this fall.
What inspires you to create?
The random beauty and power of nature inspire my creativity. New vistas and adventures create the spark to capture these magical moments in nature. Plein air painting is a joy that feeds the soul and allows one to seek and explore new destinations. A “walk on the wild side” with fellow artists, in a painting environment, around the globe is both productive and rewarding for me.
Travel inspires creativity. To paint it, you must experience it and learn how to see it. I look forward to seeing Lake Maggiore and Milan with family in July, then a river cruise from Budapest to Bucharest with friends in September to satisfy my passions for travel and painting.
There are other trips on the radar! I will paint the California coast with mentor Bill Davidson in his Carmel workshop later this year and then take a journey to paddle the Everglades with Beaufort Kayak Tours.
Which artists have had the most impact on your creations? What do they do, and in what way do they influence you?
Those whose work I’ve studied:
Ansel Adams – the sense of space and grandeur of the great outdoors
Thomas Moran – the ability to capture the strength, magnificence, and atmosphere of the wild
Edgar Payne – a master of composition
Ron Ransome – the sense of space and atmosphere
As well as my painting mentors:
Wolf Kahn – taught me to keep it simple.
Bill Davidson – for his gift of sharing his painting techniques, color mixing, values, and expertise in plein air painting.
Walt Bartman – an oil painter/teacher who founded the Yellow Barn Studio in Bethesda, Maryland, and who has a gift for teaching composition, color, and the importance of shadow.
Charles Gruppe – an oil/acrylic painter who has been doing overseas workshops for over 50 years and is still at it at age 90.
Is there a work of art that has changed your life or how you view the world in some way?
I study paintings that I like. Great art has a WOW factor – not simply a photo representation of what’s there. You must put a bit of yourself into the painting and capture the moment’s mood. I look for energy and movement, the power of the diagonal, thick juicy brushstrokes, and the play of light against dark. Good art is not made by timid people. Be bold, be free, walk on the wild side, and be passionate about what you paint! And paint like you are rich.
As a member of VAC, what do you like most about us?
The energy and creativity found in the group.
Tricia Gardner