Deborah J. Milton

Acrylics, mixed media

Why I Create:
I paint – and write – to portray the loving world in which I want to live, a world where we know we belong to the web of life, so we understand that our flourishing depends on everything else flourishing, too.

Detours Along Life’s Journey:
As a kid, I thought I’d become an artist as an adult. But life interfered with those dreams, and it took thirty years and a PhD in Human Development before I remembered who I really wanted to be. I’ve written and illustrated a handcrafted book about that transformation: Behind the Mask – Parables and Practices to Begin Living for Real.

Because of Covid:
In December 2020 I lost my studio space. With no place to paint, I purchased an 8” square journal and committed to filling its 30 pages. I found my watercolors, pens and colored pencils and came up with a layered approach similar to what I do in acrylic on larger canvases. I painted a swirling wash of a cosmos first and spent time gazing at it. As images began to appear, I outlined them with pen, then colored-in with pencil. Originals are now framed, and many are on greeting cards.

New Paths Beckon:
Thanks to Community Creative, Len Eisenhood, I was recently introduced to and have become enthralled by the ancient art of paper marbling. You’ll see its influence on new mixed-media images and hand-crafted greeting cards.