I was born in Hartford Connecticut but grew up in Denver, Colorado,
which I consider my true home as I have been here since I was two months old.
My artistic journey began as a child and continues to be a
lifelong journey.
Creating paintings whether abstract or representational is my
form of self- expression.
I was greatly influenced by my parents, stepparents and
grandparents through their love of the arts and the exposure they gave to me in
the form of fine art, music and theatre.
I earned a degree in medical technology at the University of
Colorado out of desperation; for during the 60’s, a career as an artist was
very much discouraged.
After seven unsatisfactory years of working as a med tech I
enrolled at the Colorado Institute of Art where I studied to become a graphic
designer and subsequently went back to teach design and drawing for 15 years.
During that time I also started the greeting card company Graphic Creations, which went international. After eight years I
sold the company to find my self-expression through the art of painting. Fellow instructors and fine artists Ivy Delon
and Judith Scott encouraged me to study with them using pastels as my medium.
Simultaneously, I studied at the Art Student’s League of Denver with Doug
Dawson and Ramon Kelly and took a variety of workshops with such artists as Kim
English and Clyde Aspevig.
Thanks to their mentoring I found my true passion as a
visual artist. I spent the next 10 years teaching and painting. My new art career
began through small shows at the Art Institute as well as many home shows.
During that time I met a glorious friend, Pat Sampson, who loved to travel and
photograph. We have since then spent many years behind the lens of a camera photographing
places around the country and world. Thanks to Pat I have found a lifetime of
subject matter and experiences are all incorporated into my paintings.
Eventually my art was accepted into many galleries and
private collections both locally and around the country.
In 1998 I gave up my career as a teacher and graphic
designer to pursue painting as a full-time career. It was during this time that
I met John K. Harrell who was a major influence in my pursuing painting as a
living. I moved into a professional
studio space, which I shared with Anita Mosher and was next door to John’s
studio. During my time at that studio I began painting in oils using brush and
palette knife and continue to do so today. Several years later John suggested
that the three of us open a working studio gallery. We formed a partnership,
found a space on all S. Gaylord St. here in Denver, Colorado, and now are in
our 12th successful year.
Two years ago we asked artist Kelly Berger to join our partnership
and have subsequently moved to a location in antique Row in Denver on South
Broadway.
I am deeply appreciative of my three partners who have made
my lifelong desire to be a career artist possible.
That is not to say that all the beautiful friends and family
in my life have been as influential and supporting to shape the person and
artist that I am today.
Currently, my work is the expression of abstraction where I
use the elements of color, light, shape and texture to create imagery of an
interpretive nature.
“I create paintings to
be uplifting in order to give the viewer some respite from today’s busy and
fast paced world of information overload. In addition, I want my work to awaken
something within and speak the spirit and energy that inspired me during the
creation process.
As an artist I find
that my work is ever evolving. It is a continual process of reinventing myself
in this rapidly changing world where we are continually exposed to new ideas
and possibilities.
I began painting in
pastels, which allowed me to paint and draw at the same. From there I moved to
oils where I created impressionistic representational imagery with brush and
palette knife from images photographed in my many travels around the world. I have
now added the expression of abstraction where I play with the elements of
color, light, shape, texture and composition. All of my work is a joyous and
challenging expression, as it requires the painting to come from within.”
At this stage of my life and career, I no longer find myself
worried about which subject might sell or painting to please galleries. My challenge
is to stay in the place of painting purely from my heart.
I consider myself so fortunate to have the passion to express
myself through the act of fine art painting, a lifelong spiritual journey. It
gives me a sense of purpose and a connection with something larger than myself.
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