Bonnie Mandoe
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I knew I would be a painter when I was a teenager, but waited until my 50’s to paint seriously so I could devote myself fulltime. By then, my children were grown and my responsibilities fulfilled, so I dove in headfirst and I’m still in over my head. There are many things I love about painting — color and texture, shapes and patterns, designs in nature, and especially the mystery of seeing something emerge from nothing. I like to paint outdoors, also from ideas, from my imagination, and from my subconscious. I love water soluble oil paint, which behaves like traditional oils but is free of noxious vapors. I developed a techinque for using this relatively new medium that fits my requirements exactly. I studied art at UC Berkeley and thirty years later at WNMU in Silver City. The real learning occurs outside the institutions in the studio and on location, though, an
d you have to paint a lot for good things to happen. I like to have numerous pieces going at once, moving between them, staying detached so I can see each one more clearly. In earlier life I owned a natural foods catering company; I also wrote for newspapers and magazines; published a couple cookbooks, and more recently restored old adobe houses. The one I live in was an elegant farmhouse in its day, and makes a comfortable home/studio/gallery. I have two incredible children and three remarkable grandchildren and friends far and wide who make life worth living. It’s with enormous gratitude that I pick up paints and palette to explore the unknown.
