Gilmore, Jamie

I was two when I held my first pencil & started my “training” as an artist. Living in rural northern California, I had plenty of time to draw, paint & color. I was born an only child & grew up surrounded by the agricultural beauty of Northern California. Playing amidst the purple bearded iris & getting lost in the Almond Orchards made more of an impact on me than all my years of school. I learned to appreciate nature on backpacking trips to remote mountain meadows. I developed an honoring of nature that my art strives to portray. My border designs are like jewelry adornment for the plants I love so much. Experience in finish carpentry added an architectural aesthetic to my botanical portraits as well.
My family was always very supportive of the arts. Vacations consisted of trips to other little Northern California towns; visiting their local plant nurseries, galleries, & art fairs. I remember being very affected by meeting other artists & listening to the dialog about their work; how much love & time they put into their art. I loved the idea of pouring your heart into something; of creating beauty out of your own experiences.
I earned a bachelors degree in art from California State University, Chico. I have lived in Eugene-Oregon, Mt Shasta-California, & now the rugged Ka’u Coast of Hawaii Island. I bicycled the back-roads from Eugene-Oregon to Arcata-California. I have traveled throughout Europe-bicycled through Portugal, frozen in Amsterdam, been in awe of Paris, eaten my way through Italy, and strolled the cobblestone of Switzerland. All steps toward my present devotion to a life of creating beauty, sharing beauty, being swept up in the duality of life, & trying to be a small part of the balance.