Natural Inspirations

As a Fine Art student my daughter produced some amazing work. Her unusual talent always intrigued me and I wondered where she got it from. As a youngster I never pursued art myself and always dismissed  any leanings in that direction. However some times we discover things about ourselves later in life that we didn't ever dare to explore before.
Having lived in Seoul for 5 years I am always looking for a connection to South Korea. Some times you find the connection in the most unexpected places! On a cold rainy day in February 2016 I was driving along unknown roads in Rye New Hampshire desperately looking for a bathroom. I had just come here from Arizona and the cold weather hit me like a punch in the face!

 Abruptly pulling into a parking lot of a strip mall that had some stores and offices I ran into the first building I saw next door to a dry cleaner. I ran up some stairs and saw a lady standing at the top. Realizing I was in an art studio and even though I was dying to go to the bathroom I couldn't help but around me. I also realized that the person who was in the art studio was Korean and I asked if she was indeed Korean. 

Soo Rye Yoo Gallery.

She seemed surprised and amused. I eventually did go to use the bathroom and when I came out we started to chat. Her art studio was a large space and had the most beautiful paintings and  art work of all different mediums. There were paintings of birds, houses and coastal scenery, post cards, photographs and pottery as well as Korean paper called Hanji. 

Soo Rye Yoo at work in her studio.

The Gallery space was calm, serene and so inviting that I wanted to stay a little longer and ended up buying a few things from her collection but i had to go home because she did't have a credit card machine. I found out later that the artist's name was Soo Rye Yoo and she had been an artist in the local Seacoast New Hampshire area for 7 years. I found that she gave art lessons to a variety of students of varying talent and experience as well as doing her own art work which seemed to have coastal theme.

Soo Rye's career began in Seoul South Korea where she had painted Moon Villages. She drew inspiration from the hopes and dreams of the poor who resided in densely packed houses on a hillside in a coastal town by the ocean in her native land of South Korea. She also depicting birds in some of her art which she notes are our messengers. As well as from her native South Korea Soo Rye also draws inspiration from her travels throughout the USA and Canada, especially New Mexico.
Whilst visiting relatives living in New Hampshire in 2001 Soo Rye fell in love with the stunning natural beauty of the Seacoast area. She went to New Hampshire University and then whilst acquiring her residence visa she was encouraged by several prominent local people to open a Gallery of her work on Sagamore road in Rye.
She is admired by many prominent artists in the New England art scene and her work is currently being exhibited at the Millbrook Sculpture garden in Concord New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Coastal Scenery

 

Odiorne Point

 My art lessons with Soo Rye Yoo have lead me to discover some very interesting things about how the natural beauty of Sea Coast New Hampshire can be so inspiring!

Concentration and hard work

The stunning beauty of New Hampshire is hard to miss with beautiful mountain, lakes, rivers plus the seacoast with everything coastal living has to offer and thousands of visitors flock to this part of the country at all times of the year.

My second art piece 

My third piece of art work depicting tulip from my mother's garden.

Wallis Sands beach Rye New Hampshire at sunset.

Personally I have been so inspired by Soo Rye and the natural beauty New England that I am now a regular student and have managed to produce some works of art of my own taking inspiration from my teacher, my back ground and my travels. I realize that my daughter may have inherited her artistic talent from me and I am so grateful to Soo Rye Yoo for helping me find that new side of me!