About the Artist

Hello, I’m Rhonda Ford and I am an artist who loves to translate the world around me in oil paint.  I live on the eastern shore of Maryland where there is a wealth of beauty from the Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean.  The scenery is alive with light and movement in the salt marshes and the forests.  I love trying to catch a specific time, a moment created by the light hitting the water and bouncing off the various grasses and trees of many colors.  Every time I look around I see something exciting in the landscape.  The scene is fleeting as the sun moves and the original inspiration can be gone quickly.  Getting it explained in paint is the challenge and the fun.

I enjoy painting on site outdoors (en plein air)  and have participated in many plein air events.  Here the intent is to give the viewer a glimpse into an artist’s interpretation of the place and time.  In doing so I feel that I am celebrating what Mother Nature has created and how wonderful it truly is.  Spending time in nature just listening to the sounds of birds and insects, feeling the sun and the motion of water as the tides go in and out is grounding and reassuring. No matter what is happening in the universe the one thing that we can count on is the changing of the seasons and the circle of life.  Celebrating and honoring that process in my paintings seems of utmost importance.

I particularly love the old work boats  that once served as transportation across the waterways, or a way to make a living. They have been abandoned when their usefulness has expired.  They are reminders of days gone by and the people who owned them.  Recording the old boats in a painting keeps their stories alive.  It keeps us connected to our past and appreciative of their efforts. 

I know I have spent many a wonderful meal with family and friends of fresh caught crabs, shrimp, oysters or clams.  I’m sure you have too.

If you would love to have some of these stories in oil in your collection please view my paintings that are for sale.  https://www.rhondafordfineart.com/works