The number one question I am asked about my art is, "What medium do you use?" My earliest paintings are in acrylic though currently I am honing my techniques and style in oil. Occasionally, I use other mediums as well, but I find oil and acrylic (both very different approaches by far) to satisfy me the most. No matter what medium I use, however, it is my exploration and growth with the materials I find most exciting and enhancing in my work. I paint because the world around me comes alive when I do, and when that happens, it is not the medium I am thinking about but the colors, shapes and images. Where ever my passion and spirit takes me--that's my style and medium.
Bio I work as a fine artist mostly from my home studio, though I also paint frequently in groups with other artists. My passion for paint stems from my first experience with paint at an easel in the back of my First Grade classroom and has never left me despite my various life paths. Born in Springfield, MA, raised in New Haven, CT , I later moved to the Pioneer Valley in Western MA in my early twenties. Initially, I came to visit a friend, but felt as if I had at last found “home” and my creative fervor established new energy.I graduated from Adelphi University with a BFA in Theater Arts. Though theater fulfilled some creative desires, the memories of all those colors in an elementary school classroom led me into the field of education. I obtained my Teaching Certificate from the University of MA, Amherst, and then my M.Ed. from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA where I was enrolled in the Arts in Curriculum program.After years of teaching (of course integrating art in all the subjects), and raising my son and daughter who are now young adults, I have left the field of education and now devote my time fully to painting. I am a "self-taught" artist, meaning that I am now both the teacher and and the student. I continually study techniques and styles from books, courses, and other artists. I am involved in many critique and study groups and I paint daily.I show my work frequently, steadily expanding throughout and beyond New England. Viewers of my work often comment on the honesty of emotion portrayed: that each piece is genuine: truly from the heart. Contact: Jerilyn Kolbin, jkhereandnow@yahoo.com
