I'm all about focus. If I'm concentrating, don't wait for me to notice you've entered the room. You'll have to touch my shoulder to get my attention. My paintings reflect that in the level of detail I include. I consider it a great compliment to be told my paintings look like photographs. My subjects often choose me, haunting me like benevolent ghosts until I exorcize them by committing them to canvas. I’m intrigued by contrasts between hard and soft, such as the hardness and immutability of china against the softness and fragility of flowers or fabric, each transformed by the presence of the other. I love how light and dark create depth and movement. These miracles of nature deserve my undivided observation. As a result, many of my works have no “background,” which I perceive as a distraction from the focus on the subjects of the painting – as if nothing else in the world existed except the object of my attention. Sometimes I eliminate background noise by expanding the subject to fill the canvas. I extend this form of simplicity to a choice of simple but strong color palettes and a moderate canvas size. My goal is to suspend moments of observation and capture them in vivid detail so that I may share my joy and pleasure in them with you.

My love for painting began with the emergence of contemporary realism in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. I was sufficiently fascinated with the artists of that movement to study fine art, and later, commercial art at Georgia universities. I love to travel, and my work is often inspired by the places I've visited. Sometimes I'm mesmerized by the ordinary: the curious shape of a caladium and how it folds in a summer breeze; the way a vine creeps up the side of the ruins of an old barn. My preference for materials depends on the size of the piece and the subject. For smaller works with lots of detail, I like watercolors and tiny brushes.

April Mi
9/20/2007
Roswell, GA
United States