As a child and young adult, I enjoyed drawing, calligraphy, and sewing, and by the end of junior high, I’d decided to go into fashion design. Contrary to my wishes, the school guidance counselor advised my parents to put me in the college curriculum based on my grades and so my creative leanings were put aside. By the time I’d graduated high school in 1975, I’d abandoned art altogether. Though I dabbled from time to time over the years, creating art was not a driving passion until I hit my 50s. Around that time, I rediscovered my creative spark through music, poetry, and of course, art-making. 

I’ve always gravitated toward faces and animals, so those were my favorite subjects when I began to draw again in 2013. Initially, I was working in graphite and eventually discovered pastel which has become my mainstay. The first pastel piece I entered in an art show earned an Honorable Mention. I continued to submit to shows year to year and have been fortunate to have my work recognized along the way. In 2019 my husband and I retired and moved to Maine. When the pandemic hit in 2020, I started taking online classes in watercolor and charcoal. As time progressed, I sought out online portrait workshops in watercolor and pastel. 

The second child and eldest daughter of seven children I find myself returning to themes of family and belonging again and again: the pleasures of childhood, and the simple joys in life such as nature, animals, and collected items. I come from a long line of strong women who have weathered adversity each in their own way. Consequently, I find inspiration in themes of motherhood and individuality. Children are favorite subject as I had no offspring of my own: each painting along those lines is an expression of delight, longing for little ones and/or remembrance of my own childhood. 

My work has been selected for inclusion in national and international juried shows and has received numerous awards since my creative renaissance in 2013. A number of my works are held in private collections in California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Costa Rica.