Our Art Ispiration
Norma Pruden
Our office is dedicated to Dr. Peter Pruden's mother, Norma Pruden.
Norma Pruden, at the age of 71, was in a place in her life where she was able to do anything she wanted. What she wanted was to paint. She had completed her college education, enjoyed a career in New York and spent many joyous years as a devoted wife and a mother of three sons. Her family and home were most important to her.
Norma began her artistic journey with painting classes under Trish Thompson, a professor in studio art at Daytona Beach Community College. She studied with Steve Aimone’s ProArt Institute, Anna Tomczak, Roberta Favis, John Wilton, Harry Messersmith and Malcom Morley among others. She was known as a patron of the arts for her southern hospitality and for the parties she hosted in honor of artists’ exhibitions.
Pruden’s work began to receive recognition at the Ormond Beach Art Museum, Maitland Art Center, Atlantic Center for the Arts and the Museum of Florida Art’s Florida Biennial among other venues. Norma passed away with her family by her side in January of 2003 leaving behind a prolific body of work.
Artist’s Statement
"Since 1962, I have been living, looking seeing, and absorbing a lot of this wondrous world-God-made and manmade. Almost half my life was spent as a wife and mother (three sons), cooking gardening-and lots of entertaining. Food markets and nurseries- a great part of my life-comprised the most magnificent palette/ subjects for any painter. In cooking and in gardening, one is a visual composer. Adding canvas, gesso, acrylics and charcoal results in another visual composition. I draw and paint."
-Norma Pruden