Artist’s Statement

Beverly Guhl

As a very small child whenever someone asked me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” my answer was always, “I’m gong to be an artist!” There was never any doubt. It wasn’t so much a choice as a calling really.  I suspect it was my outrageous sense of humor and fondness the sophistication of Jules Feiffer’s cartoons that led me into the world of commercial art and cartooning for most of my adult life. From there I enjoyed many years of international success doing a lot of fun things, including designing hundreds of bestselling greeting cards, calendars, and becoming the published author of six books.

Once computers came on the scene I was fascinated with digital art and photo manipulation; and when I finally purchased a digital camera I was instantly, hopelessly hooked. It was love at first click.

However, the artist in me soon longed for something more, something the camera couldn’t deliver all by itself.  So, using my digital art skills I experimented with manipulating photos to achieve a visually exciting blend of art and photography. The results are sometimes recognizable subjects, while others are impressionistic or even abstract, yet always intriguing, colorful and beautiful.
My favorite subjects are my koi pond and stunning
Japanese koi, water lilies, dragonflies and even the thirsty bees that stop for a drink. With camera in hand I am awestruck over the raw beauty of the setting sun reflecting on the water’s surface, and adding to the drama are these colorful koi shimmering their way over, under, and through these jeweled reflections. When I photograph koi, I try to capture all the facets of their being and personality—they can be curious, amusing, poetic, serene, swift, still, and very zen.

When I artistically enhance my photos I strive to bring to the image the impressions of beauty and mystery that define these magnificent creatures and their breathtaking habitat. Some of my images seem to call for little  enhancement, the splendor of nature and the subject itself beckons to be revealed as purely as possible. It’s at times like these that I am humbled to realize artists can’t really improve upon nature, we can only attempt to interpret and translate it into a vision that is uniquely our own.

I hope you enjoy my vision.

Beverly Guhl

 

Beverly Guhl BIO

 Beverly is a natural born artist who has spent most of her career as a graphic artist, author and illustrator. Beverly achieved international success in the gift industry with her art published on greeting cards, calendars, bookmarks, CDs, posters, and more. She is the published author of six books. Since becoming interested in photography she combined her art and photographic talents into a series of images she describes as “artistic photography.” Beverly was born in Oklahoma and raised in Virginia. She’s been a Texas resident since 1976. She studied art independently while raising her two children. Beverly’s work can be seen on her website at www.beverlyguhl.com