Deborah Galarza, About Me, The Artist

                    

                              

                        

                        Born in California, I grew up as an Air Force Brat. Uprooted often during grade school, I learned early on to adapt and be flexible. I traveled between grandparents and extended families in California and West Virginia. Both sets of grandparents had country acreage where I picked up my love of nature, travel, and appreciation of different environmental, artistic styles. 

I've always been an adventure  seeker and yearn for travel. When I was 11-years-old, I was on a life altering flight away from my family in West Virginia to go live with my grandparents in California, I decided I wanted to be a flight attendant and would forego traditional family life for travel.  I was reacquainted with a high school friend while he was home on leave.  He was an Army Ranger Paratrooper whose job was jumping out of airplanes. Working as a flight attendant, it was my job to keep people in them. We married five years later in ’92 and settled in the small town of Fillmore to raise our two sons.

I have a deep appreciation for nature and when everything in Southern California has turned midsummer brown, I long for green mountains where I feel centered and at peace. Forest hikes and strolls on deserted driftwood beaches are inspirational and soothing. Family camping road trips with lodging away from crowds near a National Park is my idea of a perfect vacation.

My watercolor paintings are primarily landscapes and still life. My landscapes reflect places I’ve been and those I create or combinations thereof. I try to imagine myself in my paintings and often find that without planning to, I’ve included a path or roadway beckoning exploration. I hope the viewer is drawn to explore as well. I prefer using natural elements, antiques, rustic advertisements, and art deco architecture in my still life paintings.

                           I enjoy varied forms of arts and crafts while my other love is writing. Next to being out in nature, painting and writing feed my soul. I’m in continuous pursuit of learning new techniques, exploring new genres, and perfecting my skills with favorite mediums. I love painting and writing equally and hope to effectively tell stories without words and paint pictures with them.

I’ve heard great pain and loss make great writers and artists. While I’m sure there are greats who haven’t suffered greatly, I do believe that we all create with our hearts. After all, no vision or idea a mind will produce can get to paper without first passing by the heart.

                          

 In everything I create, there is a little piece of my heart.

                                                                                                ~Deb