Eileen Gratez

I was born in Buffalo and have lived here all my life. I've wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember. In 1973 I received a B.F.A. in painting from S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo and immediately went to work at the Chevy Plant on Delevan Avenue. While working I took classes at night from Walter Prochownik and painted in acrylics and oils.

In the early 90's I went to New Mexico and visited the home of my favorite painter, Georgia O'Keeffe. I began working with photography around this time because arthritis made it difficult to paint. Growing up in a middle class family with both parents, and then myself, working in factories, it seemed logical that I would be drawn to photographing old buildings. Georgia turned massive boulders and desert areas into simple colors and shapes and I focused on the abandoned ghosts of Buffalo's past, the grain elevators.

Shapes, colors, textures and reduction. Anything has the potential for beauty. It just takes the right eye to find it and I believe that is where my painting background helped me in selecting my subjects. I often see the end result when I look through the lens but many times I alter my photos on the computer. I pull the tiniest detail from an image and turn it into a focal point. I alter colors to brighten up an aging building or get as close to a flower as I possibly can.

I am currently the President of the Western New York Artists Group and a member of the Buffalo Society of Artists.