painting

Beauty touches the soul and awakens something in us. I feel more alive after walking along a creek, or through autumn leaves, and capturing those glimpses of beauty is my goal as an artist. 

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.