Artist Statement

My art journey began 20 years ago by auditing a drawing course at the Art Academy of Cincinnati while completing a year-long docent training at the Cincinnati Museum of Art.

A family move to south Florida introduced me to the weekly art courses in drawing, watercolor, and oil painting at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach. Another move to Charlotte, NC enabled me to work with Andy Braitman, who introduced mini-courses on color theory, art criticism, and figure drawing.

While living in Florida, a turning point in my development arrived when I was encouraged to work with Graham Nickson at the New York Studio School. He made it clear that to become a serious artist, one must work at developing their craft daily. Two of Graham’s quotes have stuck with me: “Painting is not therapy” and “An artist must paint 100 yards of canvas before she can pretend to know what she is doing.”

His workshops in New York City, Naples, FL, and Orvieto, Italy were invaluable in my development as a professional artist.

Moves to Sonoma County, CA and Paradise Valley, AZ allowed me to experiment with a variety of different landscapes and waterscapes. Vineyards, old barns, northern California coastal scenes, the beautiful deserts and mountains, and urban waterscapes became inspirations for my art and continuing development.

A move back to my native Maine in 2008, first just for summers, but full-time starting in 2012, opened up coastal, lakes, and the mountains of northern Maine as inspirations along with the challenges of painting in all four seasons.

I continue to focus on plein air work and the figure in the environment. When I cannot paint outside, my studio practice includes still life and figure drawing and painting.