I was born in Wilmington Delaware in 1968 but moved to a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia when I was six. Growing up on a farm “up a holler” was the best background to stimulate a young artistic mind. I pursued every art lesson I could and entered several grade school art shows winning first, second and third place ribbons, a couple honorable mentions and one best in show. I was guided artistically by my amazing art teacher Mrs Jane Blevins and she helped me prepare my portfolio to attend VCU in Richmond VA. After graduating in 1986 I was accepted to VCU but for financial reasons only attended for one year. Still, all of the studio classes I attended played a huge role in my artistic growth with perspective, color, composition and drawing the human form.
My art career really started when I moved to Colorado in November of 1997 and in the spring of 1999 I started doing art full time. I spent the first few years doing watercolor renderings of houses for real estate agents. The renderings were used for advertising and marketing then given as closing gifts. Then in the winter of 2000 I met and became friends with the amazing abstract artist Lance Butcher; he persuaded me to give abstract art a try so I did and, much to my surprise, it was well received. So in June of 2007 I had my first show. I never thought I would do abstract painting but as a result my art will never be the same! I feel like I have found a side of me that I didn’t know existed! I guess it’s been there all along I just needed that persuasion to help bring it out. It’s a feeling that is hard to explain but I feel can be conveyed best through my work. The thing I like best about abstract art is that it can be whatever the viewer wants it to be. I like to think it's more about the feeling it provokes than about seeing familiar objects.
After living in Colorado for 13 years I moved to New England, where I lived for 5 years. During that time saw a shift in how I do my abstract work. It became a little less unconventional and became a little more refined, simplifying how I create the three dimensional effect from using organic materials to just using layers upon layers of paint.
Since July of 2015, I have lived in Portland OR. St Johns in north Portland was home for six years and the condo was built on a bluff so the view was like living in a tree house, Trees being my muse I found myself painting a lot of trees again and although many paintings were created, to me the stand out was the body of work “The forest for the trees.” Living in a time when the rights of trans people are under fire, my intention was to show the diversity of trees which, like people are all very different but all very beautiful. Since December of 2021 I have lived in a floating home with a detached studio that is small but perfect for the way I am painting now, which has shifted in a new direction. I am working more with acrylic and watercolor (mixed media) blurring the line between abstract and realism. It just seemed like the logical next step in the ever changing world that is my art.
Since moving to OR I have taken part in the St Johns art walk three times and currently have work hanging at the Salty Teacup in downtown St Johns in North Portland and I have done a mural in Club Sky High also located in St Johns. In 2018 I took part in the Soul Box Project which was to help bring awareness to gun violence and death. It was displayed with thousands of others in a quilt like form on the National Mall in Washington DC. So with several commissions my artistic mind is happy and ready for whatever comes next.
I love to work with many different media: Pen & Ink, Charcoal, Graphite Pencil, Color Pencil, Pastels, Acrylic Paint and Watercolor (which I have taught myself to use, having had no formal training.)
Most of my earlier abstract paintings are mixed media, consisting of acrylic paint, permanent color dyes, water, spray paint and paper towel. Many also include dried tea leaves, flowers, texturized vegetable protein, flour, sand, salt and other natural materials such as pine needles, bark, small twigs and leaves, and human hair. I have also incorporated cremated human ash in a couple commissioned pieces. Most of the paintings are done on and with recycled materials.
Creating art is my life; it’s a passion from within.