One of the 9 Muses is Candace (Candy) Brancik of Milford.  On Tuesdays, I see Candy paint mostly in oils, usually starting with a small, tonal underpainting.  She then introduces her rich palette of colors, and builds her figures with a delicate grace of brushwork.  Her finished paintings have an old world feeling, however, they exude a contemporary confidence.

Candy writes:  "After 20+ years in the commercial art field, I realized I had strayed from the things I really loved about art, and so in 2004, I retired early from my job to go back to the more fulfilling field of fine art.  Currently, I paint with our Tuesday group from a live model, mostly in oil, and at home in the studio.  I find myself gravitating towards mixed media drawings of animals, and of birds in particular.  But I still feel I'm looking for that inner voice to come out, so my goals are to continue to experiment with media, develop technically, and eventually build a cohesive body of work."

Tonight, Candy is receiving top honors at the Lawrence Street Gallery's 2009 The Body Electric Juried Competition & Exhibition (www.lawrencestreetgallery.com) for her mixed media work titled "Stripes". Congratulations, Candy. 

Candy's website:  www.thepixelcollective.com/cbrancik