Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season and that you come into the New Year with a clear mind and feel empowered to reach your goals! To kick-off this month’s Artist Spotlight we are going to focus on the theme of “New Beginnings”. This is the time of year when people start to set goals for themselves and focus on New Year’s resolutions. People feel motivated to better themselves and are determined that this year is going to be better than the last! Our artist this month, William Rickarby Miller, has works that depict new life and new beginnings all around us.
Born in England in 1818, there’s not much known about Miller’s start to painting. His father was a landscape and animal painter so his passion for painting came early in life as we trained with his father. Miller was a portrait and landscape painter who was especially well known for this watercolor paintings. He was sent to London by an unknown patron to further his training after one of his portraits caught public attention. His landscape paintings often had multiple light sources making them feel much brighter bringing an element of “newness” to his works.
His landscape paintings make us wish for brighter and warmer days that seem so far away right now. But what can we do to accomplish our goals now? Instead of waiting for it to get warmer to get outside and get active why don’t we bundle up and take a walk around the block! Make sure you are doing check-ins with yourself to see how you are feeling. Do something for yourself and then do something for someone else! Stay strong everyone and keep killing it!
