Artist Statement
At 8 years old I compared some paintings I had done with pieces that had been painted by some adults in my family. As expected, my work looked like an eight year old had painted them and I was embarrassed and crushed. With a heavy heart I decided that I would never be a painter so I explored many other mediums including needlepoint, crocheting, woodworking, ceramics and photography. After high school, I attended Pennsylvania State University where I majored in art with a focus on photography. I was not happy there and after one year I transferred to the Art Institute of Philadelphia. I excelled in their professional environment and graduated with the “Best Portfolio Award”. I stayed in photography for some years but in the end decided it was not the career for me. I fell out of the creative world for many years while I built a cleaning business and after a decade of scrubbing and vacuuming I ended up having major back surgery. During my long recuperation, I accepted the reality that I needed a new career. A change of venue was needed to figure out this major life change so I went to California where I studied handwriting analysis with Vimala Rodgers, a published author and noted handwriting expert.

I began my oil painting adventure in the winter of 1999 in Fair Oaks, CA a suburb of Sacramento. During my daily walks along the American River, I came across a class of artists drawing and painting on a walk bridge which traversed the wide, shallow body of water. My breath caught when I saw the rich and vibrant colors on their canvases, both in oils and pastels and I asked one gentleman how long he had been painting. He said, “One year.” My face registered shock and he gave me a knowing smile and said, “We have all been painting under a year.” I noticed that they were all my age or older (30 and up) and their work was beautiful. That childhood dream started whispering to me. I got up the nerve and signed up for a drawing class at The School of Light and Color.

When I finished my work with Vimala and became certified in handwriting analysis, I returned home to Lancaster, PA, where I continued to paint sporadically for a few years without any sense of a specific style. My sister Becky and I decided to paint one afternoon and we couldn’t decide on a subject. She loved painting flowers and I really didn’t but she insisted we give it a try. After much grumbling, I capitulated and an idea came to me, “Why not use the palette knife and see what happens.” It was the breakthrough I was looking for and my style of thick paint with lots of texture emerged. I love the energy and sense of movement that I get using a palette knife and I get excited by the way the colors mix and merge on the canvas. Naturally, my first show was mostly flowers which I now love to paint but mostly I’m attracted to all things in nature, especially animals, birds and people.

SHOWS & ASSOCIATIONS