Southampton - Continuing with our artist profiles of artists both living and working in the Hamptons, our next artist is Eileen Dawn Skretch, who lives in Southampton.

"Tents in Vineyard" 2009, 12" x 12".

Artist Eileen Dawn Skretch was born and raised in Southampton. Her family were farmers, and her father's "Potatoes make the meal" sign used to be visible on County Road 39 on the drive into Southampton. He was also a businessman who established planned neighborhoods for the working class of Southampton. Her mother, a Sag Harbor native, was a bookkeeper and creative homemaker. Eileen grew up with her sister and two brothers right in Southampton Village. After attending Monserrat School of Visual Art she returned to Southampton to start a family, raising a daughter and two sons. She put her artistic ambitions on the shelf for nearly two decades, and ventured into building design and contracting, as well as real estate sales and management. When her eldest child headed off to college she returned to her true passion, and she's been painting steadily since.

She reveals "I paint landscapes on wood. I feel that my life has been molded by the expansiveness of the local fields and water, and it's what I've always been inspired to paint. The wood is an integral aspect of my art. When I have a specific scene in mind, I search my sheets of birch plywood for the right pattern in the grain. This pattern gives life to the composition, becoming another layer of the mist, movement in the sky, or a ripple in the water. I see the scene in the wood before the first stroke. I cut to size, build and attach supports, and finally sand and seal the wood to allow the right amount of grain to show through. The paint I add just continues the work started by the wood's grain.

"Dune Road Morning" 2010, 8" x 10".

Skretch reveals "Because of the tremendous changes I've seen on the East End over the past 50 years I feel the need for proper planning and conservation of this natural resource. I am a member of Plein Air Peconic, a group of painters and photographers who support the efforts of conservation groups like the Peconic Land Trust. We aim to raise the public's awareness of our working farms and open spaces though art exhibitions, donating a portion of sales to the cause."

When did you start making art and what medium(s) do you consider to be your roots in art?

Eileen Dawn Skretch: I was born into a farming family. We prayed for rain or sun and watched the sky for signs of the results. Although my mother was very creative, my family was not artsy. By second grade I had a revelation that the act of drawing was like magic. You start with a blank page and with the marks of a crayon or brush an entire world comes to life. The best gifts I received were paint by numbers and John Nagy: Learn to Draw sets. I treasured visits to the Parrish Art Museum. When I was in the fourth grade I was one of two students chosen to represent Our Lady of Poland school at the PAM. Seeing my own artwork hang in the Parrish was a huge encouragement. I studied for a short time at Montserrat School of Visual Art and at Southampton College.

"Beach Path" 2008, 24" x 24".

What is it about the Hamptons that brought you here and enticed you to stay, work, and pursue your art as opposed to some place else?

EDS: I have had the pleasure of living in Southampton my whole life. My family's been here for three generations. Painting the landscape I grew up in was a need that had to be fulfilled.

How do you support yourself as an artist?

EDS: The sales of my original paintings have been fairly steady. The recent economic downturn has brought more interest in smaller works. I've been quite active locally in group shows and have a personal exhibition in The South Street Gallery this month.

Why live and work in the Hamptons as opposed to elsewhere?

EDS: The quality of the light, with the influence of the surrounding water, is ever changing. I'm lucky to have gotten stuck here.

"Highland Terrace Sunrise" 2008 36" x 72".

What local environmental or historical aspects of the Hamptons do you relate to that may be reflected in your medium?

EDS: My father was a farmer and my uncle fished in the waters around Sag Harbor. Practical interaction with the environment felt like a natural segue to landscape painting. As a child I loved the time spent outside; in the middle of the potato fields surrounded by green and sky, in the rye field with our paths and forts, or on the water paddling through the creeks and marshes. The hours spent painting these landscapes, whether indoors or out, are just an extension of that interaction.

"Gray Day" 2010, 8" x 10".

What artists do you feel have influenced you and your work?

EDS: As a child, William Merrit Chase and Fairfield Porter showed me my world as art. They took the familiar, my village, my beaches, my schoolmates, and made them paintings that hung in the Parrish Art Museum - Magic! The Impressionists also interested me by turning the everyday view into something extraordinary. More recently, Lucille Berrill Paulsen and Miriam Duganis have been very supportive and motivating. Dinah Maxwell Smith introduced me to alternatives to painting on canvas. Terry Elkins' paintings and workshops were a turning point in my painting. His classes introduced me to plein aire painting, and using wood instead of canvas. I've spent the past 10 years developing my own methods for painting on wood.

"Trees on Marsh" 2008, 36" x 36"

What advice would you give an emerging artist?
EDS: Paint. Paint what you love. Paint your passion. You have to be emotionally involved. I don't think it's purely technical. Anyone can be taught to properly render, but it's passion that breathes life into a painting.

What gives you an edge (if any)?

EDS: The landscape isn't just scenery to me. I grew up knowing the dependence of our family's well being on the land, and I have a very real emotional connection to my environment.

What are you working on now, and are you involved in any upcoming shows or exhibitions?

EDS: With the slow-down in the economy I've had higher demand for my mini paintings. They originated as quick 4 x 6 or 8 x 10 paintings done primarily on site, to capture the correct color and tone of the day. Now I'm working on a series "Along Dune Road" that will be part of my upcoming show at The South Street Gallery in Greenport. I'll be showing several of my "door" paintings of the bay and field vistas, too. They're done on standard hollow-core birch veneered doors that I get from Riverhead Building Supply. Turned sideways they're 32" x 80," a great landscape dimension.

"Winter Marsh" 2009, 30" x 40".

The South Street Gallery is located at 17 South Street in Greenport, and will be on view through September 20. There will be an Opening reception on August 20, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Also, my work is on display at the current Plein Air Peconic Exhibitions and Sale "Saving Our Landscape Heritage: Paintings and Photographs of the East End" at the Southampton Historical Museum at 17 Meeting House Lane in Southampton, 631-283-2494 through September 4. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. I also have work in "Gems of the Hamptons" at Tiffany & Co. at 53 Main Street in East Hampton, 631-324-1700 through September 6.

For more information on Eileen Dawn Skretch go to www.eileendawnskretch.com; www.pleinairpeconic.com; www.thesouthstreetgallery.com; or email at Eileen@eileendawnskretch.com.

"Across The Bay" 2009, 32" x 80".