Artist Statement
Aura Dez artist statement 2019
I was an artist at an early age growing up in Ann Arbor,Michigan.
I did my first color drawing when I was 5yrs. old which my mother sent to me recently prior to her passing. It was a horse...(smile)
My photography began when my father gave me an old brownie box camera which I would use with black and white film shooting photos of early mornings in our yard on Peach St. in Ann Arbor, including my dog and family members....I was learning that to do a good photo it takes the "eye" of an artist.
I began serious creating when I was 12-13yrs. old ,beginning with oil painting and then wood sculpture.
The sculptures were all sold upon completion. I loved working with wood....It did seem more time consuming than I wanted...So the painting became much more something that I focused on.
At 17yrs. I sold my first major oil works done on masonite to an architect at the Ann Arbor street art fair. He informed me that he was going to place them in a hotel lobby which he had designed. It was the first feather in my cap as a successful painter.
Of course, being young and on "cloud 9" from the sale..I never got his name or the hotel that they were going to...Some day, in my travels, I'm sure I will see those 2 pieces again.(smile)
I graduated from Ann Arbor High school with an outstanding award in Art and a letter of introduction to the University of Michigan school of Art and Architecture from my HS art instructor, Cecil North...He was a very strong supporter of my growth in those early years. (the first encaustic artist I ever met...he melted crayons to do his pieces)
Many wonderful and growing years were spent in California, my home by the "Blue Waters"..I continued to study and began to sell my paintings when owning my first gallery in Mendocino..a true revelation and confirmation, once again, that I was an artist.
I moved to Santa Fe from Mendocino in 1999 and have found the change to effect my growth as an artist in such a positive way! I SO love the land and sky here and the presence of the "ancient ones" in the petroglyphs and just the feelings that I receive each and every day. All of these things are present in my works.
The quality of the "light" for both photography and painting has also lent me a hand in my further growth......other's speak of it and it is a real thing...
Each day is a new adventure into the world of creation for me and is what my life is all about.
I hope that the "Love" that I have put into my works will be a positive effect on all those who own it and view it.
Many Thanks to all of you who have purchased my works!!! And those who enjoy it.