My favorite locations for painting are along the Pacific Coast. I feel renewed both physically and spiritually when painting near the ocean and I hope my paintings will evoke similar feelings in the viewers of my work as they are reminded of the beauty they have observed along our beautiful coast.
I am fortunate to paint with a plein aire group from the Santa Cruz Oil Painters. I also work from photographs and from still life set-ups in both oil and acrylics. Although my work is representational, I find the abstract patterns of light and shadow and the movement of water the most exciting to paint.
I learned to paint as a very young child sitting beside my artist mother as she worked. I later took classes at Indiana University, U.C.S.C. and Santa Clara University. Combining Art Therapy with a Masters Degree in Psychology, I was able to pursue my interest in art during the twenty years I worked as a psychologist in the public school system. I learned a great deal about the intrinsic value of the creative process from the children I worked with in Art Therapy.
I always think my best painting is the one I am currently working on. I know I am happiest when I am involved in my artistic pursuits, and I am very aware of a void in my life when I don’t have a work in progress.
