Brighton-Area Artist Spotlight: Norma Gray

A musician and singer growing up, Norma Gray spent the better part of her life raising four children. When the youngest went off to college, Gray found herself in an empty nest in Iowa, where she and her husband had moved for his job.

“I needed a new career. My career as a full-time mother was gone,” Gray said.

Along with a woman she met at a welcome wagon meeting in Iowa, Gray enrolled in a drawing class. Noting the medium's absence of color, Gray soon moved on to a watercolor class.

“Classes are so important to the community,” Gray said. “Without them, no one would ever try anything new.”

Thirty years have passed since Gray took her first art class. She has returned to Brighton, where she paints and constructs collages full-time and teaches private workshops in her home studio. She is also actively involved with the Brighton Art Guild, which she helped found.

“There was a need in Brighton for a visual art organization,” Gray said.

Counting Vincent Van Gogh among her influences, Gray said she is inspired by beauty.

“I see beauty in a person's heart. I see beauty looking out my window. I see beauty listening to music,” Gray said. “Beauty is the simplest word for what inspires me.”

Gray's paintings often feature natural settings—seasonal landscapes, gardens, and Iowa farms—and have a keen attention to light, shadow, and texture. Her work also takes turns toward abstraction, revealing a depth of character and mind.

“I didn't start fresh. I had all of my life's experiences with me. And it's all there in my work—the kids, my husband, our times together. It's all there,” Gray said. “I'm very lucky to have found art.”

Information concerning workshops can be found on Norma Gray's website.