Syracuse artist finds joy, satisfaction in her work

SYRACUSE — Rose Brontmire was born with a creative flair.

As a young girl, she would check out plays from the local library and then act out each character's part. When she got older, gardening became her creative outlet. For two or three hours each morning she tended to her flowers.

But about 10 years ago, Brontmire turned to art to satisfy her creative appetite.

For a little more than a decade she has studied and developed her own artistic style. From watercolors to pastels to mixed media, she has cultivated her craft into a powerful passion.

"There's nothing I don't like about art," Brontmire said.

In the early 1990s, Brontmire and her husband sold their horses and decided to renovate the horse stalls in their old barn. "We shoveled out things and did everything ourselves," Brontmire said.

The renovated horse stalls became Brontmire's main art studio. Although the open fields surrounding the Brontmire residence are gradually transforming into new housing developments, Brontmire said she still enjoys the serenity of her old barn.

"It gets me away from everything," Brontmire said. "It's like I'm by myself, and then I can look out at the flowers and see the beauty. I want to express the beauty to other people."

In June 2004, Brontmire retired after teaching elementary school for 25 years and began devoting herself to her art.

Brontmire is a very versatile artist and uses different mediums, subjects and styles for her artwork. For her mixed-media pieces, Brontmire uses rice paper, rags and sometimes even weeds. In one of her recent works she glued painter's rags onto a canvas and then painted an elephant on the textured rags. "I just looked at it and thought, 'Dang, that looks like an elephant,' " Brontmire said.

One of Brontmire's favorite things to paint is old cars. She likes to draw and paint from pictures but will also do some plein air, or painting at the scene.

"Photos are a little bit easier because the light changes so much," Brontmire said. "When you are out in the field you really have to paint fast."

Brontmire said she doesn't throw anything away because she can transform old pieces of art into collages or weavings. "I use a lot of old pieces that I don't like," Brontmire said. "I'll cut them up and make new pictures."

Last year Brontmire added a mat and frame room and studio into her basement where she teaches art classes. She started teaching private art lessons about four years ago and teaches students either mixed media, watercolor or collage.

"I have a real love for art, and I want to give that to others," Brontmire said.