Humanity demands my curiosity. A face reflects the fabric character. I perceive emotions  in an expression such as curiosity, fervor, shock, agony, passion and so on. Nearly everything we do is driven by emotion. When I paint expressions I like how it makes me feel and how others may be moved by it, positively or negatively. I feel the melancholy, despair, joy, exuberance or apathy. When I work on a piece I find some release, some satisfaction in connecting with human frailties. I am so absorbed in the painting that I transcend to another place providing a diversion from all distractions and become sanguine.

When I was younger my mother told me my empathy for others was a gift, though at times I was not so sure. I am intrinsically intuitive and when I look at someone, I begin to feel what they feel. I use this in my work. When I am working on a piece the expression begins to speak to me. I start to take on the emotion that I sense in the art , painting what I feel inside. It is almost a symbiotic relationship.

Colors are an important part of my work. When I start a new piece I decide what color I want to work with first and then let the colors flow to take me to a place where the picture comes alive in my mind. The way colors complement and contradict each other is what drives me to paint. This interaction reveals to me the emotions that I find in the expression.. Sometimes the colors present in a piece are in concert with the expression, sometimes in conflict. This juxtaposition is what I find most enthralling.

I paint primarily in acrylics because they are versatile and can be applied to a wider array of surfaces than either oil or watercolor paints in addition to being easily manipulated for a wide variety of effects.

	Alice Engelhardt