Artist: D. Goelz

ARTIST STATEMENT

Why do you use the medium that you use?

I use acrylics primarily because they are easy to clean up and last a long time.

What role does art play in your life?

I have PTSD, and painting helps to calm me and it's soothing to express my talents on canvas. I have 22 years in the Navy and Army-retired Military Honorable Discharge. Painting helps relieve stress and makes me happy.

What inspires you to create your art?

It's exciting to start a new piece and rewarding watching a painting come to life with a positive result. My inspiration comes from nature, birds, wildlife, sea life, flowers, and  landscapes. By painting, I can take myself out of my cell and into nature and enjoy creating fish, birds, animals, and landscapes. Anything my imagination can take me to. I taught myself to paint, so far I painted 113 paintings in five years.

I love painting the beauty of birds and nature with all the vibrant colors. 

Transformation Statement

To me, transformation is like having two seeds. Imagine that one of them lands on the hard, concrete sidewalk where it is left to bake in the scorching sun. Then picture the other seed falling into a moist, dirt-filled crack where it germinates, sprouts, and blooms into a beautiful orange flower for all to admire. [new paragraph] All of us, I believe, would like to change from our old, negative, habits and traits into a new, positive, productive, citizen.