Lynne Mallonee Schlimm

Art, in one form or another, has been around me all my life, although I didn’t appreciate what I was living with at the time:

My mother’s dedication and commitment to ALL forms of creative expression, from painting and drawing to sculpture, collage, dance, and the written word
My sister’s devotion to art education — she is passionate about the role the arts play in a well-rounded education
My other sister’s love of both visual and musical arts — she’s married to a musician and both are steeped in it!
My brother’s commitment to and love of music — he’s married to an accomplished photographer/calligrapher and musician, and they both perform with a regional chamber choir
My father’s love of jazz and all things big band — and his love for what each of us could do artistically.

Obviously the seeds for my creative life were planted, even if I didn’t nurture them until my 30s. Before that, I always had pencil and paper at hand, as a compulsive doodler will do, but that was it.

Until I met CHAW.

My first class at CHAW was drawing, taught by Gina Clapp, in which I was exposed to botanical art. While other students sometimes groaned at being asked to draw yet another flower, I loved it! Eventually, in Gina’s watercolor class, I discovered a way to transform my intricate pencil doodles into paintings.

And now I paint and draw because I have to. I agonize over subject matter because each painting is deeply personal. Whether it’s a flower, a dog, or a kitchen cupboard, I have a relationship with the subject; I want to convey my feelings about the subject in the project.