About The Artist

Ultimately as a traditional artist, I'm most comfortable painting or drawing, but my approach toward art emphasizes value in the work process, where means to expression are diverse, and despite the outcome, effort is always worthwhile.. ~ I grew up in Alberta, Canada, where three years of formal education led to a home-based business in eastern Ontario, working freelance while my children were young. Along with a variety of on-site work for Interior Designers, commissions included fabric design, illustrations, acrylics paintings, human and pet portraits, and customized wall murals for homes and restaurants. Until moving to the U.S. in 2002, volunteer work at schools involved developing educational projects around themes of Art History, multiculturalism, and environmental issues. Photography is an ongoing interest, influential in my work as inspiration, where I'm guided by the experiences and observations. Style is mostly dictated by subject matter and the unique challenges presented by each individual piece as it unfolds. I work intuitively and don't really have pre-set, predictable methods, except there is constant concern for negative spaces being as important as the main objects. I'll remove material to create marks, imply structures, backgrounds and spatial movement, using damp cloth and dry brushes on paintings, pottery tool and fingernails with oil pastels, and different sizes of erasers for graphite and soft pastels. Recently (2020-24) I've been doing large format soft pastels on paper, trying a broad range of subjects and portraying some of the amazing places I've traveled to.