Ramona Murdock

“Art is a feeling that feeds your soul a big dish of happiness”.   I like to enjoy this dish with a BIG spoon.  I especially love to share it with lots of other people. 

Since there were never any artists in my family, the thought that I might become one didn’t occur to me while I was growing up.  But, after High School, I bought an inexpensive camera that I really enjoyed. Soon, I became interested in developing my own pictures and set up the proverbial darkroom in a closet.  Wow, that was fun!  This interest led me to attend college and receive a degree in photography.  After marriage, children and family life soon took over and the camera was put on the shelf.

I still had a desire to create joyful things, so when my children got a little older, I designed and began to manufacture children’s special occasion clothing.  For over 30 years, my designs were sold worldwide through retail stores and later as a successful website selling christening gowns and outfits.

In 2014, I sold the business to my son and found that I now had time to pursue my love of photography and art. However, I no longer had a lifetime to invest in becoming a conventional artist. I decided that with a background in photography, I would take a short cut and use that medium to pursue my love of the arts.

I quickly realized that it takes a lot more than just having a nifty digital camera to become an artist.  Frankly, I, graduate with a photography degree, wasn’t very good at first and came up with a lot of fuzzy pictures.  A blessing in disguise, I guess, because I learned to “disguise” my lack of technical skills.  Using the awesome technology of sophisticated editing software, I learned to use a digital brush to sharpen up details and then to add brushstrokes, texture layers and masks.  Things started to look pretty good and artsy.  I realized that this was a media I could really enjoy and maybe add something to Humanity’s Library of Art.

 These days, I spend most of my time in my former darkroom with a computer and editing software “developing” pictures.  My husband and I enjoy traveling and spending time with our children and grandchildren.

I hope you’ll enjoy a big helping from that dish of happiness.