Leigh Schoch
- info161429
- Dec 20, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 24
Painter
I paint what I love about New England: its mountains, lakes, waterfalls, seacoasts and even people. Living and painting in New England offers such riches of inspiration. My paintings are realistic and contemplative, often with a hint of nostalgia for life as it used to be when I was growing up in rural Maine and Nova Scotia. It was in Nova Scotia back in the 60’s where we had no tv nor technological distractions, other than a party line, that my mother, also an artist, nurtured this deep need in me to draw, paint and make things.
I would take my sketch book and draw our little wooden dory the “Tringa,” or the relatives clamming on Sable River. The great aunts and uncles would gather in Aunt Thelma’s cottage and swap stories of growing up a “Pierce”-15 kids in all. Grandfather always said “When they started coming in two’s, I left!” Music, singing, writing and painting here and there were handed down through generations, occasionally emerging in a child gifted with at least one talent.
I see everything in terms of composition and colors and am constantly composing paintings in my mind. The White Mountain Painters and the Hudson River School artists of the 1800’s often “teach” me how to emphasize, pare down, or broaden the views. Darell Koons was my mentor at Bob Jones University, where classical art methods are still rigorously taught.
Not only do I paint places of New England, but also further afield in New York State and the Maritimes. I like to stand where those early artists stood and paint the same view, even if the march of civilization has altered it. I paint en plein air when time and weather allow, later finishing the work in my studio. Light and weather wait for no one, even when I get lost in the thrill of putting brush to canvas. Painting brings me lasting joy, and I hope my work brings a little joy to your day too.
Website: https://www.leighschochfineart.com/
Email: leigh@leighschochfineart.com
