G.E. Grey, Watercolorist

Snow Series “Winter anywhere can be spectacular. Add the romanticism of New England and you have an expectation of white, windswept expanses, fringed trees, frost patterns and childhood memories. I paint snow the way I grew up thinking of it, somehow secret, special and solemn. That's certainly not the reality of ice and salt and sand, weekly car washes and shoveling the build-up of slush in the driveway. But still, I paint the emotion of snow, not the reality.”
Christmas Cards “My Christmas cards measure approximately 6.25 inches by 4.5 inches (folded), come with matching envelopes and are blank on the inside to hold your own personal message. The several images available are reproductions of my original watercolors.”
Newburyport Series “I first moved to Newburyport in the mid-seventies, when the restoration and rebirth of the community were just getting underway. For three years I enjoyed its quaint charm that has since been left behind as the community has grown up to be a bustling city. When we returned to Massachusetts in the late-eighties I was ready for a more rural life, and so we chose Salisbury. While I enjoyed the daily sights and sounds of my neighbors at the flower farm, in just minutes I could cross the river to Newburyport where I could enjoy downtown shopping, city life and culture. I felt fortunate to be able to enjoy the best of both worlds.”
Bosque del Apache Series “The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite places on earth. It is a sacred place to me; a place of inspiration, pleasure, serenity; an oasis in a busy life. I can lose myself for hours there and seldom return home without some new image or experience and a sense of being refreshed or renewed.”
Autumn Series “There is something about Autumn that speaks of home. Perhaps it is the looking forward to the holidays with friends and family gathering to share the bounty of the harvest; or maybe it is the snap in the air so welcome after summer's heat, or the glorious color of the leaves and the muting of the colors of the grasses and fields. Still yet, it may be the smells of the season, the apples and other hard fruits, the leaves, the wood smoke. Whatever it is, it calls us home.”
Rural Series “The focus of my rural series is on recording the disappearing sights of rural America. This series began as a way to document the landscape and farm buildings, implements and animals that make up many of my current and childhood memories and which are being replaced by housing developments and suburban sprawl. The rural paintings are more about air and temperature, creating a depth of field but focused on the 'portrait' of the foreground subject in a particular moment in time to elicit an emotional response from the viewer.”
Southwest Series “When we first moved to the Southwest I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Five years in New Mexico and two years in California gave me a keen appreciation for palm trees, cactus, sun, and snow that knows enough to melt by noon time. Being able to play in the garden while admiring the snow on the peaks just 15 miles away was an indescribable pleasure. I guess I just like living where the sun shines more often than not. I have been fortunate in that I finally was able to return and live in New Mexico, truly the Land of Enchantment.”
Marsh Series “I think most people (at least in the US) feel a kinship to New England. Perhaps it is because the Pilgrims landed here and we feel our connection to that reach for freedom. In any case, the stereotypical idyllic New England scene still exists in real life, if you know where to look. The marshes and estuaries, the cottage gardens, the mill buildings, the lighthouses, the boats, and rocky hillside farms all speak to us of our New England heritage.”
Handtub Series “This series began as a single image created to help our local fire department in Salisbury, Massachusetts. An auction was being held to raise funds for a new fire engine. The Fire Chief, a neighbor, supplied the photo reference for 'Red Wing, S.F.D.'. After seeing the painting a local photographer and fire apparatus aficionado encouraged me to expand the initial effort into a series.”
Coastal and Island Series “I love the water, particularly salt water. Rivers and lakes and streams are nice, but the ocean is what really does it for me. It is mesmerizing to watch the waves come in to shore, whether they are just sidling up to it as they often do in New England or truly crashing as they do in the Outer Banks. The Pacific is a whole different story, more serious than the waters off Massachusetts but somehow calmer than the waters along the southeast coast. The plants along coastal areas are more interesting to me, too. Their adaptability and survival are fascinating. And the Virgin Islands! What incredibly beautiful places. Sort of like the high desert and the California coast, but better than either. I want to go back!”
Floral Portrait Series An avid gardener, Grey's passion for beautiful flowers echoes in her large floral portraits. She delights in painting intimate, close-up views of flowers. Inspiration strikes when light, atmosphere, and angle combine to reveal the penultimate floral image. “No matter where I am, each spring I look forward to the blaze of color and the chance to discover some new combination or composition in my own garden or someone else’s.”
Animal Kingdom Series “I have always liked cats. My grandparents always had dozens of farm/barn cats and I plagued my grandmother for many years sneaking the less timid and more easy-to-catch of them into the house whenever we visited. Grandaddy always had a dog, and while nice enough, they never enthralled me the way the cats did. Truly, I love most animals (woodchucks do not qualify for this list) and have cared for or had as pets: fish, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, possums, skunks, dogs, and cats. I love the changing expressions on the faces of all animals, but cats are, for me, the most readable.”
Available Originals “What can I say about my paintings? Each of them has a story, a place in my heart. Most are about place: a sense of place or an emotional resonance with the location, some tug or glimpse that made an impression I felt the need to share. Some are more about the design, the contrast of light and dark, organic and linear, but all are an attempt to say, ‘Come, look – do you see what I see? Isn’t that a sight!’ A sight to cherish, or to remind us of the little miracles all around us, to make a connection; a sight to bring a sense of joy or peace.”

Research Trips

Artist At Work