Better late than never, is one of my favorite sayings. After a lifetime of creating art for my own enjoyment, I now devote myself to painting on a professional basis.
Oddly enough, it was travel that brought me full circle to my art. Throughout childhood, high school and college, I studied art and design, but was unsure if I could eke out a living in the creative arts. It was a life-changing trip to Europe in 1980, which led me to follow a path in the travel industry, where I worked for a number of years. Always inspired by the art, culture and beauty of the scenery I experienced in my travels, I knew I needed to recapture those experiences and express myself creatively.
After my children were born, I began designing and selling jewelry, but still felt something was lacking. With this thought constantly in the back of my mind, I decided to sign up for an abstract painting work- shop with Stephen Kilborn in Taos. We had traveled to Taos many, many times and I always felt so inspired by our visits there. Stephen introduced us to his style of painting, using simplified shapes and vivid use of color, it was this abstract treatment of subject that rekindled my desire to paint. I loved the freedom of making the subject my own and my style became more relaxed and flowing.
Inspired by the landscape, I’ve continued to paint scenes of my travels, but am equally inspired by what I see in my own back yard. I do especially love the big skies of West Texas and high desert plains of Northern New Mexico though, as evidenced in many of my paintings, and hope one day to spend more time further exploring these areas.
Like a road trip where you make new and unexpected discoveries, my images convey a dreamlike quality — familiar yet slightly foreign, recognizable but a little bit different. By creating a sense of movement through my use of line and color, I invite viewers to be active participants, to “wish they were there”.
In the past few years, I’ve participated in several local and regional art shows throughout the Southwest, including Texas and New Mexico.
