As a native of Atlanta, Debbie has spent a lifetime creating art inspired by the region rich in beauty and culture. While working in education, she dedicated much of her energy toward creating and illustrating curriculum for individuals recognized as exceptionally gifted and talented and training colleagues to administer and score tests evaluating creativity. Referencing experience in creative thinking and years of life drawing, the shapes and marks now considered Ezell’s non-objective visual language create the illusion of space and depth. Debbie’s current work evokes the natural and organic through use of acrylics, oils, and various tools for mark making. Many abstract painters influence her work from Matisse’s palette, Diebenkorn’s division of space, De Kooning’s expressive style, Hofmann’s exploration of shifting picture planes as well as the lyricism and strength of Frankenthaler’s work. Artist Statement My process is focused on maintaining authentic energy resolved when the shapes, marks and passages of color find a balance of harmony and dissonance. Arranging elements dynamically within the canvas allows each form to emerge, dissolve and change. Compositions are gently nuanced through a series of intuitive decisions exploring subtleties and possibilities in the work. Each mark and brush stroke becomes a voice in the painting conversation. This sense of order, in whatever form it takes is an expression of my connection with nature and awareness of the world around me.