About Me
My Background
As a child I accompanied my mom visiting museums and art galleries and have continued that practice all my life. But formal training in drawing and painting was put off until I was well into adulthood. My first solo exhibition was in 2004 at the Highlands Gallery in Breckenridge, CO. Since 2005 I have exhibited regularly at the Strecker Nelson West Gallery (formerly the Streaker-Nelson) in Manhattan, KS. I have also been in juried group shows, two-person and solo exhibitions in Washington, DC; Bethesda, MD; Fairfax and Alexandria, VA; Des Moines, IA; Kansas City; Smithville, TN; Decatur, GA; and Aspen, Silverthorne, Frisco, Dillon and Breckenridge, CO.
My Medium
Most of my paintings are done in oil or acrylics. But I delight in experimenting with different mediums, mixing mediums together and working with collage. I also do some printing making, both by hand and employing a printing press
My Inspiration
I love the process of art making--it engages my imagination and a particular work will evolve slowly over time. Typically my paintings have layers of paint reflecting a process of construction, destruction and reconstruction of the final image. Much of my work is figurative but the subject is merely the starting point as I explore and respond to what is in front of me. I enjoy bright colors and bold shapes and am fascinated by how line and color can be used to create or diminish an illusion of volume or space. Painting is a never ending challenge to depict an emotion, a concept or a response to the world around us. The magic of art is that it forces one to see things differently--from the artist's eye or maybe from a new perspective.