Myra Williamson was born August 21, 1963 in Krotz Springs, Louisiana, a tiny town between Baton Rouge and Opelousas. Myra has always drawn; growing up she was interested in design and eventually acquired proficiency in the art of decorative paint on furniture and walls. It never occurred to her that she would be an artist and her parents did not encourage an artistic career. Because she loved "the way art looks on a bare wall" she began creating fine art paintings for her own home. When friends from New Orleans asked to purchase her art, her life as an artist began. That same friend was soon managing a gallery in New Orleans, Ariodante Gallery and pushed her to create enough art for a show. Reluctantly agreeing to do a show, Myra kicked off her artist career with a bang. That was 10 years ago and in that decade, life has dramatically changed.
Living in a rural area St. Francisille , La. "I was inspired by my beautiful surroundings". Huge trees with Spanish moss ornaments, moss covered brick patios, old homes that tell their own story without words. That was home for 10 years and a lovely wonderful time it was, but feeling the artist push to see and do more, I moved on and spent a time in the NYC art world. The enlightenment I gained by making that move is why I am where I am today. Although I had some very successful exhibits there, I found that I am not the type of artist who would sell my mother to obtain gallery space there, (besides the fact that a southern girl is not built for month after month of freezing weather) is now living in Enfield, North Carolina. A wonderful little sleepy town about an hour from the Virgina border. Here in this beautiful historic home she and her husband Andrew are restoring, she finds time and space to build the canvas in her mind before even breaking out the tubes of paint.She has no formal training and is self-taught. The drive to create and paint is innate and comes without provocation. She gets inspiration from viewing Louisiana artists' work, such as the renowned George Marks, John Drysdale and Lisa Distafano, all from South Louisiana. Myra tends to gear pieces as to how they will look in an interior. When creating a piece, it is more for the objects around it rather than just the piece, and she gives a great deal of thought to what will work in a particular room. Credit for the affinity to properly place art, she gives to Dixon Smith Interiors. Dixon, is a fantastic artist in her own right, but pulls in art from other great Lousiana artists into the homes her firm is charged with designing. The design team there gave me a passion for creating pieces that pop, but do not overwhelm a room. There has to be a bit of the soul of the artist in every piece. I am fortunate to have adapted. Every piece of myself I put into a piece, is regenerated 10 fold. Art is Life!
"For me, becoming an artist was never a conscious decision. It was something that just naturally evolved. Falling under the spell of European Masters and local artists alike, I felt I needed to explore my own interpretation of beauty, light, and design. My passion brings me beyond technique in order to interpret the subject in different ways and to expand that interpretation into my own personal statement."
--Myra Williamson
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