Page 50 - The Hunt - Summer 2024

“As a little kid, we were called home when the street lights came on. At the end of the day, I’d watch how light changed on, say, field grass swaying in the wind. These were images imbedded in who I am—and those things became interesting again.”
vivid color and dynamic compositions of his memories. But during his emotional lows, painting became a struggle. “There are artists who turn to their work as solace, but I found that to be more difficult,” Blue says. “With the way I make art, I seemed less inclined. I had to get out of my own way, and Stroud helped with that.”
So did workshops at Studio Incamminati’s School of Contemporary Realist Art. The first of those was a gift from his wife, Amanda.
He returned his focus to drafting and drawing. His work grew more simplified, and his colors more expressive. In 2016, his daughter Hannah suggested he visit Stroud Preserve to continue clearing the air. “I was immediately smitten,” Blue says. “I fell in love.”
48 THE HUNT MAGAZINE
summer 2024