painting

Accepting commissions.

Leaving my mark in this world.

It’s not unusual to find Larry DeGraff at the end of a dirt road, brush in hand, trying to capture the light unique to that place and time. His goal: to share the beauty all around that we are too busy to see.

I grew up on the High Plains in the Texas Panhandle, and that is where I first learned to take nothing seriously. Emptiness plays an important role in both my poetry and my painting: I often find myself spending as much time on what is not there as on what is. This usually means focusing on a single image and letting the whole composition spring up around it — not a narrative but an all at once that evokes a here and now that is, here, now, neither. A likely story is likely to grow out of this when readers and viewers encounter it, but I hope my art always invites more than it contains.

As an art educator, my canvas was my classroom for many years. Now retired, I can channel and direct that creative energy in my own art. I was also a teacher that needed variety and was always trying something new with my students. I have learned so much from my students and fellow art teachers; they are the people who influence me today. I have a strong connection to the natural world and I am a person who needs the outdoors and nature. Animals and plants, flora and fauna are my inspiration for much of my art. I am constantly trying new techniques, taking workshops, etc.