Continuing with our artist profiles of artists both living and working in the Hamptons, our next artist is Bobbie Braun, who lives in Bridgehampton

"Yearning" (2009), oil on canvas.

Bridgehampton - Bobbie Braun has lived on Long Island most of her life. Starting out in Great Neck, she reared her family in Huntington Bay, and then settled on the East End and lives in Bridgehampton. Her varied and eclectic life has led her to fulfill a myriad of businesses, all of which have been extensions of her creative need for self-expression.

With a B.F.A. from Boston University and an A.A.S. from Parsons School of Design, her creative life has included a career in interior design. She owned and operated a successful, full service design firm, Braun Design, Inc., participating in many of the prestigious "Mansions and Millionaires Designer Showcases," and taught design at Parsons and the New School.

Braun's hand-crafted fine metal and gem jewelry business was developed in the 1990s, and allowed her to find a new medium for her knowledge of combining unusual colors and shapes that had been gained during her long career in the design world. Yet it was her first love of fine art, a love that had been put on the back burner for decades, which evolved with her life here on the East End.

"Lake Nicargua Country" (2009), oil on canvas.

Braun was drawn by the light and "exquisite panoramas of sea and fields." Her decision to make the Hamptons the center of her creative life has been continually fueled by the vast community of artistic life she has found here. Her recent work combines her knowledge of en plein air, and her use of form, color and textures in the interior design world.

Braun relayed that "Most of my work has been inspired by familiar and beloved sites, some of which are easily recognizable, and some with a style created by turning an inner eye to the emotion of the moment. I have been influenced by active skies here [East End], Nicaragua and Florida. Much of my work is barely tethered by land. My newest works explore my visceral experience in Nicaragua."

She has exhibited extensively in Florida and the Hamptons, and has contributed to numerous charitable benefits in Palm Beach, including the ASPCA, HEART (Humane Emergency Ambulance Rescue Transportation), the Hanely Foundation for Cancer Research and Just World, an organization that supports major projects in third world countries to benefit the lives and education of children.

"Hotel San Francisco" (2009), oil on canvas.

Her solo shows have included Prudential in Sag Harbor and Amagansett, Crazy Monkey Gallery, Hampton Photo Arts in Bridgehampton, The Winter Equestrian Festival in Palm Beach and Ashawagh Hall.

As the executive director of the Neuwirth Foundation, she has focused her attention towards a myriad of philanthropic efforts. Serving on many boards, she is currently on the Board of Trustees for the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, The Nature Conservancy and the Zenith Society for Alzheimer's.

"Vision" (2009), oil on canvas.

Braun is also the president of Split Rock Farm, Inc., a full service equestrian facility that specializes in the showing, training and sale of horses, which came about as result of her long-standing involvement with the national and international world of show jumping. She currently co-owns two farm facilities in Kentucky with her son, Derek, an accomplished Grand Prix rider.

Braun states that "I am the proud mother of two fabulous young adult children, and one brilliant baby granddaughter, and having finally found love, I live with artist Frank Roccanova, who is the director of Una Escuelita, a school created to help the children in Limone Dos, Nicaragua, and whose Mission statement 'All things in life can be learned through art,' mirrors my own sentiments."

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

Bobbie Braun: There is a photo of me at about age three wielding a crayon like a pro, however oils have always been my truest medium. As a child I watched my mother and grandmother set up easels on a grassy hill overlooking a lake in upstate New York where my family had a summer cottage. I might have been five or six, and they were my fondest inspiration for en plein air.

"Parched" (2009), oil on canvas.

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

BB: Honestly, it was horses that brought me here. My son was a prodigy junior rider, and we loved the proximity to horses and barns, but despite a seven-year hiatus living in Florida, I always considered the Hamptons to be my true center. I am a Long Island girl through and through. I started out in Great Neck and had been moving east ever since I drew the line in the sand when I arrived in Bridgehampton.

"Solitary Road" (2009), oil on canvas.

How do you support yourself as an artist?

BB: I am involved in many outside business ventures and fortunately I have no expectations for my art sustaining me financially.

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

BB: The creative energy and life force out here is phenomenal. I find it inspiring. Wherever you turn, openings, gatherings, exhibitions, all of it. This is truly the juiciest place I know, although it certainly is out of the way, travel in and out is difficult at best and I do a considerable amount of traveling.

"Vanishing Fields" (2009), oil on canvas.

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

BB: I consider myself to be a landscape artist, and have been deeply affected by the profound work of others - as well as the farmland itself. One of my newest bodies of work is now reflecting the imagery of the vanishing fields and those who toil working them.

"Seeking" (2009), oil on canvas.

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

BB: Years ago, starting out, my first teachers, Janet Jennings and Terry Elkins became mentors - I couldn't have had a better influence.

What advice would you give an emerging artist?

BB: Stay with your art no matter how busy or distracting life can be, always find a way to discipline yourself. Take chances, experiment, choose new paths and new mediums. Don't stay in a safety zone. Be brave.

"Path" (2009), oil on canvas.

What gives you an edge (if any)?

BB: I love what I do, passion in life will always find a way to express itself.

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

BB: I have two current shows this month. A small body of very different work (figurative) in a group show at Golden Eagle in East Hampton, and my main show of 20 paintings at Pierre's in Bridgehampton that will be up for the entire month of November. It is an interesting body of work and although it is landscape, the entire show is of Nicaragua and its vast countryside.

 • To view more of Bobbie Braun's work, visit her website at www.bobbiebraun.com

"High Country" (2009), oil on canvas.