About me...

When I tell people I was raised in a tiny mountain town at the edge of a rainshadow desert, on a road aptly named Flowery Divide - they look at me as if I stepped out from some obscure fairytale. And perhaps I have.

I cannot remember when I began drawing. All I know is there are reams of butcher paper with my first, earnest sketches, all pointing to the obvious. I was born to be an artist.

A childhood spent in a small town forces one to stand at the crossroads at a very early age. Either you do not question what is beyond that last mile post, and live content to make a path in what is known and comfortable... or you dream of what lays beyond the horizon, and do whatever you can to experience it for yourself. For me, art was my means of traveling to that far place, before I could even write my name.

Throughout my life, I would conjure up visions and stories in my head, telling myself tales of distant lands and the wonderfully eccentric people who lived in them. I was often labelled a daydreamer, and how appropriate that was. For anyone who knew me well, could see when my focus would slip from the daily routine, drifting somewhere far away, to a time and place known only to my soul. It happens frequently down to this day. And yet, I also cherished the simple beauty of the place I lived. The fragrance of cherry and apple trees in bloom. Entire hillsides covered in wildflowers. The stark beauty of untouched snow on acres of mountainside. The silence of a rainshadow desert before a storm. It is the mix of these two worlds - one real, one imaginary...that emerges in my art.

Art has been entwined with who I am, through all of my 35 years. It has been the storyteller whispering in my ear, and it has been the actor playing out scenes from the tip of charcoal pencils. Though any formal training ended when I graduated from High School, I did not fear that my passion for art would stop there too. Something rooted this deeply in the heart does not need a classroom to shape it, and nourish it. It only needs the inspiration, and the outlet...both of which are in abundant supply to me.
I work with anything and everything that I can utilize. While my focus is on digital art and photography, I also work with traditional methods such as ink, charcoal, pencils and acrylics. This makes my art as eclectic and varied as a treasure chest overflowing with odds and ends collected from endless exotic ports. And, like any collection worth it's salt, there is always a story to be found within each piece, if only one looks close enough.

Etcetera,etcetera...

Name: Aimee Stewart
Age: 36, vintage 1971
Status: Married and loving life with my best friend and partner in all the best crimes.
Children: None of the two-legged variety... but I have one incredibly smart Aussie Shepherd named Griffin, who is my constant little shadow. I also have one impressively fat cat named Lily, who is Queen Diva of the house. That's enough for me!
Location: Same little town I grew up in, in Washington State - though I love to travel, and have a bond with England and the Pacific Ocean that simply can't be explained.
Favorite Authors:I can't possibly list them all, but Nick Bantock has been a significant inspiration to me since the very first time I plucked 'Griffin and Sabine' off a book shelf over a decade ago. Charles Dickens never fails to amaze me with his labyrinth of words. Pablo Neruda is without a doubt my favorite poet, whose words stay with me throughout life. There are so many others...writers of fantasy, of impossible things. They all influence me in one way or another.
Favorite Musicians:Again, a monumental fete to even name everyone I listen to. Music is my muse. It doesn't matter what genre... if it reaches in and resonates something within me, I like it. Over the years I have stopped defining my love of music by it's catagories. There is a world full of outstanding, talented musicians out there, all doing their thing...and I'm so happy they share it with us.
Addictions: Chocolate. Velvety, rich chocolate... my voluptu-bod will testify. Books. Music. Coffee... preferrably Sleepy Monk coffee. Boxes and trunks of all kinds, though preferably wooden and well travelled looking. Antique stereoview cards. Castles. Burn-out velvet scarves. Sparklies. Old postcards with forgotten letters written on the back. Candles. England. Can an entire country be an addiction? Yes, I think so. Oh, and pretty much anything that tastes like oranges. Cannon Beach, Oregon. Foxes.