An inky little treat from Inman Perk Gainesville’s resident artist extraordinaire, Sam Roper.  Stickers loom in the near future . . .

“I truly feel released from my pressures and life stresses when I am creating, healing art.  I transition my thoughts and feelings into reality by using the tools that God gave me.  The broken pieces of my life have been shifting, creating reflections through my art.  you will see glimmers of light that are showing who I am transitioning into.  My desire is to provide inspiration and hope to all those who see my work for there is hope and a future if you continue to press through.”

“Dr. Suess once said, “Why fit in, when you were born to stand out?” In this world we call home we are overrun with examples of mundane existence. I feel that our Creator has called us all to be who we were specifically designed to be…truly unique. Not only have we been given life to glorify our Creator in becoming who He has sculpted us to be, but that we do so with colorful grace and boldness. We are all matchless individuals and have particular gifts for a reason. Each one of us has the ability to express his or herself, and whatever form in which this takes place in essence is art.

After almost 50 years, I have been rediscovering the world of art.  Since retiring, I am being challenged to relearn some basics of design, color and composition.  Sometimes I paint intuitively and enjoy transitioning between styles.  I occasionally experiment with representational images having unexpected color.  Although I execute paintings primarily in acrylic, I am a proponent of “whatever works” in mixing media.

Creativity can be expressed if we sometimes risk venturing outside the lines….whatever that means for each of us.  It is always exciting and surprising to see the outcomes of my painting efforts….even when I “strike out” and the result of my experimenting is a mess.  I am satisfied with a work when my inner sense of balance, color and design seems calm.

Painting flowers gives me an opportunity to explore color, shape, light and shadow, simply.  I am also drawn to bare trees as they reflect the peaceful slant of the winter sun and with which there seems to be a familiar connection.  I love to successfully capture the myriad of colors and the translucent quality of light on and through mountain streams and ocean waves.

Today, I think provocative questions for artists could include, “What is Art?”, “Who defines what is excellent art?”,  “Must ‘good art’ reflect social, economic or political issues?”, and “Should art be generated from emotions, from the intellect, from an inborn sense of design, from fulfilling an urge to leave an outer expression of one’s own identity…or from a desire to produce an image around which to decorate a room……….or from all of these things?”

I received a BFA degree in Commercial Art / Graphic Design from the University of Georgia in 1962.  I also have MS, EdS, and PhD degrees in Counseling and Licensure in Marriage and Family Therapy (LMFT).

For 20+ years, I was a staff counselor with FBA Counseling Ministry.  In addition to counseling, I developed resources for counselors, materials for training Lay Counselors, and supervised professional counselors for State Licensure.  Among the books I authored are, Marriage! the Journey and A Model for Marriage Counseling.

I am a member of:

The Quinlan Center for the Visual Arts, Gainesville, Ga.

The Georgia Art League, Gainesville, Ga.

The Artisans of Flowery Branch

The Monroe County Arts Alliance, Forsyth, Ga.

The Bowen Center for the Arts, Cumming, Ga.

I have exhibited with:

2009   Georgia Art League (GAL): Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall Shows.

(1^st place, Summer 2009)

2009   Peach State Bank

2009   The Quinlan juried, “Local Color” exhibit

2009   Artisans of Flowery Branch Fall Festival

2009   Art in the Square, Gainesville, Ga.

2009   The Quinan Annual Members’ Show

2010   Ga. Master Gardeners’ Annual Winter Conference (2^nd Place)

2010   CFUMC Annual Juried Festival of Arts

2010   GAL Winter, Spring and Fall exhibits (Honorable Mention, Fall)

2010   GAL Spring Salon, Peach State Bank

2010   Artisans of Flowery Branch Spring Art Show

2010   The Monroe County Arts Alliance  – August Solo Exhibit

2010   Art in the Square, Gainesville, Ga.

2010   Quinlan Members’ Show

2010-2011  GAL Winter Exhibit (3^rd Place)

2011   Quinlan Art of Our Mothers Spring Exhibit

2011   GAL Spring, (Honorable Mention), Summer & Fall (1^st Place, Fall) exhibits

2011   CUFMC Festival of the Arts

2011   Hampton Fine Arts Gallery, April Show, Greensboro, Ga.

2011   Hampton Fine Arts Gallery, 100 Artists in Ga. Show

2011   Hall County Library, Spout Springs

2011   Quinlan Summer Invitational, “Sound Off”

2011  GAL Summer & Fall Exhibit (1^st Place, Fall)

2011   Quinlan Member’s Show

2011   John’s Creek Arts Alliance Exhibit (Juried by Ford Smith)

2011   Solo Show at Inman Perk

I am married to Vinson Trippe.  We live in Flowery Branch and have 4 children and 13 grandchildren.  Vinson and I were awarded the Quinlan’s Bronze Medallion for volunteering in 2010.  In 2011, we serve as chairs of the GAL Exhibit committee.

Surreal Reality – paintings on canvas and panel. Media:  oil and polymer acrylic.

“In my infinite world of imagination, I try to convey and stimulate the mythic and spiritual elements of visual expression.  My artistic passion begins with magnificent elements of nature – fauna and flora; natural beauty involves its selective conditions.  For example, the majestic animals of the Amazon and the indigenous people of my homeland of Venezuela, the Guajiros, are often featured within my paintings,

I always try to expand my work to other areas of reality and with spiritual meaning.  Therefore, I have a tendency to go from one extreme to another in order to explore.  I strive to show a range of styles and technique, and express the most beautiful delicate components of life within a complex and strange art.

Fortunately, I have known the pleasure and opportunity to experience the richness of many cultures in both South and North Americas.  That allows me to further expand my imagination.  It also helps me to understand the difference and similarity of both worlds.  my work reflects a distinct artistic perception gained from those exotic experiences.  Vivid colors and physical details make something visually pleasing, and sometimes grotesque or unfamiliar to look at.  Furthermore, I try to advance awareness and to express an opinion bout our delicate habitat and lack of knowledge about cultural diversity in Latin America.