Asked about the origins of her artistic expression, Patricia Geary responds philosophically: "Someone who paints has always painted. If you are a painter, you have to paint when you see something that you want to interpret or capture."

After moving to Florida in 1961, Geary developed an appreciation for Florida’s natural beauty, an appreciation that she expresses through her art. This relationship with the landscape was not immediate, however. "I had to learn to see beyond the palm trees and the sunsets. It took me 30 years to find the wild beauty of the wetlands, hammocks and wildlife sanctuaries. It excites me to go into the marshes or the Everglades."

This painting, which is typical of Geary’s work, depicts a natural spring in rural Longwood, Florida, in Sanlando State Park. A self-proclaimed Expressionist painter, Geary’s paintings do not display photo-realism. Her paintings are interpretive; her colors are "symbols of emotional reactions." In her work, Geary attempts to "capture the impact of atmosphere and reflected light in a nonliteral way." By doing so, Geary displays her "wonderment at the fascinating world in which we live."


[artist biography by Sydney Pettus; artist photograph by Jonathan Middleton]
Patricia Geary
Along the Little Wekiva, 1999, oil on canvas