My diverse experience and accomplishments in other fields empower my artwork and have caused me to advance quickly—making the leap from student to professional artist in under two years. A long-time hobby painter and professional art therapist, I’ve made the necessary sacrifices of time and resources to become open to trying new approaches, as well as perfecting older ones. Along the way, and quite spontaneously, I’ve come to develop my own special style and artistic vision.

My natural inclination to blend realism with whimsy makes most viewers smile. Some of my images are larger than life; have a kind of quirkiness. Others bring together elements that appear out of context, or form new patterns. My subject-matter usually involves the personally familiar or meaningful, such as fruit, food, flowers, portraits, and dogs. These are represented in ways that soothe, inspire, amuse, or appetize. Appearing in series or individually, they frequently have hearts included somewhere. I also create the occasional abstract or fantasy piece.

My decision to consider the familiar or meaningful from fresh points of view was provoked by circumstances (trauma, loss, and relocation). Sometimes your world seems turned upside down, or you're not sure where you belong or are going. This is when, I believe, familiar images can provide comfort, new starting places, or a sense of hope. Noticing viewers' responses to my artwork, it becomes clear that what's familiar (comforting, refreshing, or hopeful) for one person, can be for many.

I usually paint from life and my preferred medium is oil on canvas. Outside of the studio, however, I’m very contented with a hook and yarn, as you’ll notice in the crochet gallery.

Pansies: A Special Mention



PANSIES
Pretty, peaceful and positive
Always enchanting
New ideas in bloom
Season by season
Idyllic as daffodils
Eternal as roses
Sprinkled on salads—delicious!

Pansies seem to be most people's favorite, and my "trademark" flower, meriting a special mention on how I’ve chosen to depict them, quite spontaneously.

Background: No. It would only detract from what really matters, the flowers themselves. An all-over pattern.

Color: The colors of the flowers themselves: bold, bright, and contrasting.

Paint: Not too much, or too little. Intuition prompts confident brush strokes.

Size: Magnification from life. More impactful and engaging.

Little did I know that these reflections on the image of the pansies would soon describe a preferred way of painting. As you’ll see, my patterning techniques continue their development in the 15 X 30 fruit and food paintings.

Finally, even if I have chanced upon a preferred style of painting and subject-matter, I’m not afraid to explore and experiment: allow my artwork to grow and evolve by changing media, technique, or imagery. The pieces that emerge—sometimes triggered by a show, competition, or commission title—are often figurative or abstract and acrylic or ink based. They also might make (humorous) social observations and statements.

Examples of my creations are displayed in eight different galleries: abstraction/fantasy, crochet, dogs, flowers, food, fruit, portraits/figures, series/multiples/miscellaneous.