Debra Meier

Artist Statement

DEBRA MEIER
Watercolor Artist

My grandparents set me up on a path to art. My grandmother
handpainted illustrations on bantam Easter eggs. My grandfather, while
not an artist, encouraged me to draw pictures inspired by his interests,
Peacocks, Golden Pheasants, Wood Ducks, and other varieties that he
kept as backyard pets. My grandmother had indoor birds, budgies. They
both encouraged me to help with the morning wild bird counts, tracking
the avians that visited the feeder during breakfast; I would draw the birds
that I saw, identifying them based on my drawings.

My grandparents' personal friends, regional artists like Ernest (Ernie) Smith
and Alice Cranston Fenner. These individuals taught me that it was
possible to pursue art, not only as a hobby, but as a career. It was Ernie,
who worked with oils, inks, and watercolor, who gave me my first
watercolor set and lesson at age four.

So I grew up drawing and painting birds, sometimes inside, sometimes
sitting out in the large enclosures in the backyard, where I could be with
my feathered models. At home, I drew pictures of my Black Bantum
chickens and their fluffy chicks, as well as other animals.

When I was told by a guidance counselor that art class in high school was
not for Regents students, the art instructor allowed me to do an
independent study after school hours. I moved on to a degree in Studio
Art at SUNY Geneseo, where I worked with a variety of mediums.

Upon retiring from teaching, I surprised myself by falling in love with tubed
watercolor. I still love hiking, taking photos of woodpeckers, warblers, and
raptors; there are crows that seek me out on walks, as they know that I
carry snacks for sharing. I live with two small parrots, who often emerge
onto watercolor paper.

While I frequently paint portraits, including historical reenactors, and plein
air landscapes, I keep coming back to birds as my subject matter. They
are my challenge. Just as it is difficult to take a still photo of a bird, it is
nearly impossible to capture the life force of that bird on paper. Birds are
perpetually in motion, so I give myself permission to allow some of that
motion to come through with found and lost edges. What are they
looking at? Are they watching me, and are they in charge of their
environment? What do I read in their eyes?

I try to evoke these questions in the viewer. Just as the eyes in a portrait
carry messages, the eyes of my birds convey their stories and sense of
being.

- Deb Meier