DJ Geribo

I have always been attracted to the arts but received my BA degree from UMass/Boston with a major in English. I mostly taught myself to paint, relying on many art books and spending a lot of time practicing to improve my skills over the years. I started with watercolor and gouache and particularly enjoy painting them on Yupo paper. I then started using pastels and enjoy the softness of working on velour paper. In 2005/'06 I spent a year painting oils exclusively to improve my skills in this medium. I participated in a Daily Painting project using acrylics to develop a more impressionistic style and move away from realism in my paintings.  This six-month project helped me become quite proficient in this fast-drying medium.

My favorite subjects to paint are nature and animals. I enjoy painting a group of mushrooms at the base of a tree or a clump of wild flowers partially covered by dried leaves, those little miracles in nature that we drive or walk by everyday but never seem to notice. I am also very connected to animals and include them in many of my paintings.  My mom was born in Kansas, a farm girl, so I guess I got that feeling of closeness to all animals, including farm animals, from her.

My purpose in painting animals and nature is to show the beauty, the fragile condition of nature. I see this as a challenge in my art and hope I can reach others through my art so that they, too, will come to love and appreciate the beauty on earth that is ours to cherish and protect.

Although I appreciate when an artist can paint photorealistic works and started painting with that goal in mind myself, by exploring the various mediums and also searching for my style, I have found that I prefer a looser more painterly style and am developing that for my work.  Nature is so abstract and to try to paint every leaf or blade of grass doesn't convey the richness of nature, the true beauty, which lies in its abstractness. Look at the canyons in Montana and the rocky shore line of Maine - there is nothing perfect about them, but in their abstractness, they are perfect.

I exhibit and sell my artwork in various shows in both New Hampshire and Maine. Contact me for private showings of my artwork.           

I am also interested in writing and am working on my first art book and other interests. I have also written several children's stories that I am currently very involved in illustrating and will be publishing a couple of them sometime in 2013.

"The Story"
I consider myself an explorer.  As a child, I often thought about discovering new lands. This interest in exploring has followed me into adulthood except I keep it more local and take my digital camera with me wherever I go. I wander through forests searching for the various wild mushrooms growing on the sides of downed trees. Or travel over the rocky shoreline and marshes in New Hampshire and Maine where I find a variety of flora and fauna. When I find the perfect subject and form my composition that I use to create my painting, I then write the story of how I came upon this particular scene, what inspired me to paint it, and then I fold it into a tiny red envelope and attach it to the back of the painting. Many of my framed original artworks come with "The Story".

I donate 10% of the profits made on the sale of my artworks to local animal charities.

Organizations:
     Lakes Region Art Association
     Governor Wentworth Arts Council

My husband, Jim Fontaine, and I are very involved in saving wildlife through wildlife conservation and habitat preservation. We have designed a line of exclusive products using some of my artwork. Find out more about how we are saving wildlife together by visiting our website www.eyehelpanimals.com. We have also created a website using some of my artwork to help shelter animals. Go to www.helpshelterpets.com to find out more about what we are doing to help support no-kill shelters.