Thick paint placed with purpose in one gestural stroke makes my heart sing. My senses tingle at sights I see every day; light breaking into a coffee shop or shadows pouring down a busy city street. I want to stop the world from spinning for a moment and capture those scenes in paint. Four edges of a canvas containing shapes that make a strong design gives me intense pleasure as does the challenge of continually trying to learn more about how to make good paintings.

As an extrovert, I tend to invite people into my paintings. As a colorist, I tend to use saturated colors not seen in real life. I want my representational paintings to evoke energy in an impressionist style. Being from the Pacific Northwest, my paintings often reflect the area.

My father and grandmother painted which made it seem like a thing regular people could do. Though I always felt confident and at home making art, I didn’t learn to paint properly until I was 40 when my second child was in preschool. I took a watercolor class and fell in love. Moving from watercolor to oils to acrylics was the final step. I had found my medium and it was like coming home.

My paintings have won dozens of awards and have been featured in many solo as well as group shows. My work was featured in the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia, the Museum of History and Industry, Evergreen Hospital, Strom Jewish Community Center and is represented by several fine art galleries.