As long as I can remember I’ve been creating. My love affair with art began early in life. My favorite childhood memory was the beginning of every school year when my parents would buy me a fresh, new box of 64 crayons.
I always knew I wanted to be an artist, but like many people, I was counseled to choose a “practical” career, so I trained to be a nurse. After working in the medical field for a few years, I went back to college to further my nursing education. After a few semesters I realized my heart was still firmly anchored in art. Deciding to follow my heart this time, I began my studies in fine art. Drawing and painting figured heavily in my education, but my focus was in fine art photography and alternative processes. Using pigments and light sensitive chemicals to create my work, I enjoyed experimenting with the gum bichromate process invented in the late 1800’s, and my exhibiting revolved around it as well as black and white photography. After completing my degree, I worked as an illustrator for a magazine as well as illustrating a book. I went on to freelancing in architectural and interior photography until my children were born.
Years later, having raised my family and finding time again for my artistic pursuits, I began focusing on art with a fresh passion. After working almost solely in oils for several years, a fellow artist introduced me to soft pastel painting; I was hooked from the beginning. I love the immediate, tactile nature of pastels. There is something very special about the luminosity of pastel pigments, that to my eye, no other medium matches. While I still also work in oils, pastels are my favorite medium. I find the texture and versatility of Unison pastels perfect for my individual process.
As a long-time resident of the coast of Florida, I am constantly inspired by the colors of the sunrises and sunsets and the coastal landscape. I enjoy plein air painting and working in the studio. One of my current goals is to expand my exhibiting experience and further develop my role in my local art community. I am an associate member of the Pastel Society of America and a member of the First Coast Plein Air Painters. My work is in private collections in the United States and Europe.