Area Artisan-Bridget Greer Arnold
Area Artisan Bridget Greer Arnold resides in Maysville, MO with her children, furbabies, and husband Matt. She loves to draw and has experimented painting with a variety of mediums including acrylics, pastels, watercolor, gouache, charcoal and oils. She says she has always loved art and creative exercises.
As the child of a career Navy dad, she traveled extensively as a child, and described her childhood as happy and full of adventure. She has lived in Japan and California, along with other areas near the ocean and developed a love of the sea. She often pulls from these experiences in her painting. She developed her interest in art early in life as a small child living in California. She recalls drawing a cover for a school drawing. The teacher took it, and not realizing what was going on, she was devastated. But she soon learned that the teacher loved her drawing so much she entered it in an art show and it won first place! It was at that moment Bridget realized she wanted to be an artist.
Bridget ended up studying the Arts at Missouri Western State University. She had several favorite instructors who strongly impacted her life. She mentioned Mr. Estes (ceramics), Jeannie Harmon-Miller ( 2D & 3D design), and Dr. Allison Sauls, (Art History). She explored many different aspects of art. In Art History she was drawn to the Impressionistic period, saying “the Impressionist and oriental paintings and drawing inspire me”. She loves the loose strokes, beautiful colors, and feels those paintings are ‘uplifting’. She particularly enjoys the work of Leonardo da Vinci, Renoir, Degas, and Mary Cassatt. Interestingly, tracing back her family history, she discovered she is a distant cousin of Mary Cassatt. While in school she encountered the Encaustic wax painting technique. Encaustic painting is also known as hot wax painting. The name Encaustic comes from the greek enkaustikos which interprets “to heat” or “to burn”. It involves using heated beeswax and adding colored pigments. The liquid or paste mixture can then be applied to a prepared wood, canvas or other surface. There are many different ingredients and formulas used when using this process. The first layer, as well as many other layers, is fused with an iron or other high heat source. Often used in mixed media and collage where natural dried elements can be layered in the wax. Recently she came across the work of Plattsburg artist Laurel DeFreece’s Encaustic paintings and hopes to experiment with the technique herself.
Watercolor is Bridget’s favorite medium. She has focused on watercolors the past 5 years and feels she has found her niche. One of her first watercolor paintings that she really loves is of her cat Fernando. She felt it was successful because she ‘captured the moment I was witnessing and was able to capture the markings and softness of my cat’. She hopes eventually to paint full-time. She currently works full-time at the Maysville Veterinary Clinic, but still manages to paint about 20 hours per week. Her goal is to bring happiness to others through her work. She still studies art daily, watching other artists online and stresses the need for practice and more practice! She has joined several art groups on Facebook and other social media sites. One of her favorites that she said has truly improved her skills is a show hosted by Sarah Cray named “Lets Make Art” and is based in Hamilton. She has learned several new techniques from Sarah. Recently Bridget was a guest artist on her live show and painted with Sarah as thousands watched worldwide!
Bridget has her work displayed at several galleries including the 504 Gallery in Kansas City, Bohemian Sage Gallery in Excelsior Springs, and several times at First Fridays in the Crossroads Art District. She stays active in art community and is co-founder of the Cameron Artists Group.
