artist's statement
Art has been a part of my life since I could hold a crayon. My style combines both realism and abstraction as I respond to this incredibly complex world we live in. Painting thrills and invigorates me. At times I start with a definite idea, layering colors and textures until I get just the right image, one that tells the story. Other times I let the flow of the media grow the image, discovering my subject this way. Recently I am experimenting with more abstraction. I see things to paint all around me, and am inspired by interesting shapes, color and patterns. My painting is influenced by the styles of many established artists including Lin Souliere, Mark Mehaffey, Jeanne Carbonetti, Linda Kemp, Luna Lee Ray and Sterling Edwards. I am pleased to be able to share my work with you.
I
was born and raised in a family of 9 noisy kids in a small town near Buffalo,
New York. My mother was a gifted painter and my father was a high school
music teacher. I messed around with art my whole life. I filled notebooks
with drawings and did my first paintings at the age of 10. I was a good
student, graduating 9th in my high school class of 250, singing in the choir
and playing in the band and orchestra, but rarely taking time for art classes.
In college I studied art formally - taking drawing, painting, ceramics, photography and design. I earned a bachelor’s degree in art education from Buffalo State University College, and taught elementary art in the public schools of Rochester New York. By 1970 I had moved to Michigan with my husband and 1-year-old daughter. In night school at Michigan State University I learned printmaking (lithography, etching and silkscreen) and experienced the excitement of selling some of my prints at shows.
I worked as a teacher, writer and illustrator for many years in Michigan. In 1995 I took up watercolor and acrylic painting, soon joined an active artist guild and continued to study drawing and painting; in 2004 I began exhibiting my paintings.
One year later we moved to Durham, North Carolina, where I continued to study watercolor in Carrboro. I currently have my own studio, teach, and grow as an artist with encouragement from my family and friends.