artist statement

I paint in part because I was steeped in it. My mother was a professional artist so my sisters and I were surrounded by her work and those of others. We sat for hours as models for many of her pieces. She took us to museums and galleries. We took art classes, studied art history and traveled to see masterpieces in person. I have always been surrounded by art.

My path to being a painter detoured into architecture. After a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas I renovated buildings for about four years in Austin until I entered the Masters in Architecture program also at UT. I continued for the next four years getting my degree while renovating and managing property. Then more of life: marriage, two fabulous kids, move to Gainesville, Florida, free-lance architecture work, raising our kids, coaching soccer and participating in a lot of volunteer work. When our kids went off to college I started painting.  

Another answer to why I paint is in each painting. The subject matter: nature, Sandhill Cranes, people or animals, are things I think worth looking closer at. I am inspired by the incredible variation of fall leaves, the amount of activity in a square foot of earth, or the narrative of a path. Each painting is a culmination of the decisions, talent level, and temperament of that artist. There are decisions in subject, hue, brushstroke, composition, style, perspective, the expression of light and shadow, etc., etc. I paint because of the challenge of having all of those decisions come together to achieve what I want to convey. It is fun, it is challenging and it is infinite. Painting as with most art is intellectual, emotional, spiritual and physical.

Many thanks to my husband Larry, good friends Edith and Mariama, my sisters and many others who have encouraged me on this path.