About the Artist
My name is Derralynn McMaster (Derra) and I live in a small mountain town called Ruidoso in the great Southwestern area of New Mexico. We live in Historic Lincoln County New Mexico, home of all the Billy the Kid hideouts and shootouts.
I am a native born Texan who came to Ruidoso to marry my husband Terry. I have two children and my husband has three.
The youngest of these three boys will be 16 in September so we have all grown up some since this picture was made and our two daughters are missing from the picture. We have a dog named freckles and two cats one named cali and my beautiful black cat boo. We have lots of wildlife off the deck of our home such as hummingbirds, elk, mule deer and tons of wild turkeys. I must mention the squirrls, big fat stellar blue jays and numberous other birds who all eat more dog food than the dog.
I began painting with acrylics in 1989 and eventually took up oils in 2000. My beadwork came about because I couldn't find the type of jewelry that I had created in my own minds eye. In July of 2005 I started beading with the encouragement of Lacy, the creator of Lacy's Stiff Stuff out of Roswell New Mexico and the rest as they say is history. I entered my first beading contest with Fire Mountain Gems and took first place in the bone division three months after I started beading. I have a Cherokee/Creek Indian heritage and alot of my beadwork has that native american look. Art for me is a way to release all those marbles called ideas that are rolling around in my head and bringing them into a tangible form. I consider it an honor to have you view my work.
Gratefully,
derralynnps91art
