Artistic Statement

The wonderful thing about years of painting is the knowledge I've accumulated, and the ability to express myself in new and exciting ways. I am established, but forever growing.

There is consistency in the way I work, that unifies the diversity of my paintings. I always think in terms of color, shape and value. My paintings are well composed and expressive, whether the subject is, leaves of a cabbage, the walls of a room, or the shapes of an abstract painting. My diversity tells you I am open to seeing all ways, that I am inspired by many things, and that I enjoy life, and express that joy in my work. Each painting is a challenge as the learning process never ends.

I am glad to be an artist, I live in a beautiful, quiet place, a place that suites my personality, and stimulates my creative nature. Though my eyes I have been able to observe nature, to marvel at it’s creation to see color and beauty in all things. To observe man, interact with man. To see the genius of man as a creator himself, to see the love, joy, hate, and sorrow that man can express.

My goal in life is to be happy, and I am happy because I have done what I like to do. I am a professional artist; I've spent my life becoming a better painter, and I have made my living selling art which is one of the reasons for this site. I believe art should be beautiful and express the joy of life.

"Paintings are a joyful expression of creativity, spontaneous expressions that tell how one feels about something outside in the visible world or inside in the world of ideas and feelings." …………Audrey

“In a world increasingly characterized by fragmentation of the spirit, where greed and power corrupt what is natural and sacred in our lives, the paintings of Audrey Bechler present simple gifts and serve as reminders that all is not lost; that what is natural and vibrant still lives within our beings. One is healed by the grace of her paintings. Audrey’s work shows you a world of harmony, a world that she is deeply connected to and appreciative of. Audrey Bechler is a sensitive, emotional caring person, who adds quality of life to society. Her art is a reflection of her life.” …………Jane Sleeper

"Art is simply a result of expression during right feeling. It's a result of a grip on the fundamentals of nature, the spirit of life, the constructive force, the secret of growth, a real understanding of the relative importance of thing, order, balance. Any material will do. After all, the object is not to make art, but to be in the wonderful state which makes art inevitable." ………Robert Henri

"All creativity is basically joyful. It is play in the highest sense of the term and it is always alive with motion. There is a power of growth and value fulfillment within each individual that must be satisfied." ……………Seth

I was born an artist

The trait was recognized when my parents saw me drawing at age three and knew what the marks were. They gave me pencils, crayons, paper and scissors and I spent hours drawing and making things, using my imagination to act out stories with my dolls in the doll house that I made furniture for. I was busy and happy playing by myself.

My parents enrolled me in a watercolor class in Rockport MA where they rented a cottage every summer. I was a teenager in a group of older women. We went to a different place each week. I had always observed my surroundings. I loved painting outside and my way of seeing changed as I related to the way the students interpreted what they saw. Many artists of reputation lived in Rockport and I saw their paintings in galleries, and in the Art Association. exhibits.

There was no one in either my mothers or fathers families that knew anything about art or had any interest in it. My experience came from the summers in Rockport and a few trips to the Museum of Fine arts in Boston. After graduating from high school I was accepted into the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There I learned the techniques of art, figure drawing, perspective, anatomy, design, painting and art history. I was a serious student, dedicated to art.

Life has it’s way of teaching lessons. It is called experience. After art school I went to Europe for a year studying and traveling. Upon my return I found a job as a greeting card designer. During the time I worked at Rust Craft I lived on Newbury St in Boston and I met and married Charlie, a jazz piano player. We had two sons and I continued to paint when I could while caring for the family.

The summer the boys were two and four Charlie had a job on the Cape. Until then I had never produced paintings I felt were very good in my assessment when compared to the paintings I saw in the galleries. My talent needed to be shaken up and I was unaware of any stirrings, until a wonderful thing happened. At the end of summer on a windy day I was painting a watercolor of a shed in the back yard when an extraordinary thing happened. I produced an amazing painting. and I was elated with joy. I went from OK to very good in five hours. If was like someone else moved my hand. Almost every painting after that was good. so I entered a few National shows and my work was accepted. This happened back in the sixties and seventies. During those same times Charlie had wonderful experiences as a player and composer.

When our children were about twelve and fourteen I went into a long slump. The more I tried the worse it got. To break out of the slump I decided to paint in a completely different way. I bought acrylic paints and the book “Master Class in Watercolor” by Betts. I started paintings from dripping paint with no idea in my mind, and brought order to the chaotic color spots. I have alway been able to arrange parts into good composition. Now I was involved with colors and shapes, without interference of subject and its limitations. I learned how colors effect each other, side by side, cool and warm, dull and intense. I was more excited then at any other time in my life and from this experimenting and learning came the most productive period of painting. From that time on I saw everything as shapes, not table or chair but the shape of the objects. My vision expanded from a narrow opening to a vast expanse. I noticed things I had never paid attention to before. and I was seeing them in terms of what I had learned with the paint lessons. I saw in real life the gradations, value changes etc. I made paintings of the stairway, hall doorways, looking in, looking out. I noticed how the outside light changed the inside light. Everyone remembers “first times” as special, and that time in my life affected the rest of my life.

Just as one can not express thoughts without the knowledge of writing the letters of the alphabet and learning to spell, so technical skill is necessary to express ones feelings with paint. While painting I am always working at mixing of colors applying, changing or adjusting them when I see if they work together in application of what I am trying to achieve. The process, the challenge, is the exciting part of making art. It may go well or end in frustration. Because of my knowledge I can judge my result. I know if the composition works and if I emotionally achieved what I wanted.

I have always liked geometric shapes, lines and curves, hard edges and defined shapes. Order and harmony is important to me. For this reason subjects may be buildings inside or out. I like windows that frame landscape or windows that reflect. Everything I see I look at as a potential painting. I am constantly turned on. All of my abstracts start from something I see. Subject matter is shapes of colors and values put together in a beautiful way.

Paintings communicate. They evoke emotions, and feelings. I am thankful that through my talent I have learned to appreciate man’s accomplishments and I have come to appreciate all of nature that we are part of. The achievement of great art I believe raises the consciousness of man. When I see an ancient Greek temple, or a modern skyscraper, the sculpture of Michelangelo or the paintings of Rembrandt, I realize the potential and greatness of man. Through eons of time as civilizations rise and fall man will forever leave his mark on the earth, his creations will give testimony to his existence.