Artist Candy Perque Herlihy
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Biography
I retired after a thirty-year career working in international finance at a large, multinational organization. While I loved having so much time for myself, I clearly needed a new challenge. Painting had never been on my radar screen, and I had not been exposed to art or artists growing up in rural Louisiana. One day a few years ago, I was walking through the lobby of the local hospital and I was drawn to the beautiful paintings on display. I looked up the artist and was surprised to find that he was from the area nearby, so I contacted him to buy a painting. He was just finishing up teaching an art class when I arrived, and seeing this, suddenly I knew I needed to learn to paint.
I love working with all of the beautiful colors and feel a strong sense of the healing power of beauty. In my still life paintings I enjoy celebrating simple moments of escape from the drudgery of everyday life, found often in a hearty meal or a luxurious treat. I also enjoy painting traditional subject matter using old master techniques because I enjoy learning about art history and feeling a connection with the past.
My portraits are usually of people that I know because I feel emotionally connected to them and their life stories. Feeling their emotions puts me in touch with my own buried feelings, so that through my art I can free myself of that which keeps me from freedom and joy. To me, the multiple layers of a painting are a metaphor for the masks that we often wear to hide the deeper layers of ourselves. I endeavor to look behind the masks into the souls of my subjects and to honor them with empathy and understanding.
Art Education
2015-2017 Master Artist Program of [...]
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