My inspiration to paint is driven by the belief that experiencing beauty, and also participating as cultivators of beauty in our world, is of Divine nature and essential to the thriving of the human soul. I delight in honoring the spirited passion-to-create planted inside of me, by passing it on to others through my art and through teaching art to children. I am foremost an oil painter, responding to a moment of light, beauty, and stillness, whether it be through a Pacific Northwest landscape, a scene of lazy cows or a blooming still life.

Weaving the lovely into rhythms of our family life through many artistic endeavors has been foundational for me. This has taken on many forms, including the art of ceramics, which I’ve enjoyed creating alongside our children, and block printing, born of the desire to create an original and unique handmade card, penned to express gratitude or encouragement.  It is not uncommon to see these many forms of art overlap in my work, as some of my still life paintings have been scenes created with pottery handcrafted by myself or our kids, presented with flowers planted in our home garden for future paintings such as these.  Some of my pottery and linocut block prints have also been impressions of the garden we have planted.

As a wife and homeschooling mother of three, my days are pretty packed. I create most of my paintings in the early morning hours before the day for my family begins. Most of my work is created in the studio, inspired by a scene experienced in person.  I am always working to paint looser, to create something new by saying more with less detail, and to focus on painting the joyful energy of life and light moving through a moment; this, taking precedence over merely copying the subject I am painting.  It is my hope that in responding to this unexplainable-through-words, amorphous essence of a scene with loose and energetic brushwork, I can create a connectedness of spirit to a place, while simultaneously creating a space for stillness, which is needed in a world that moves so fast.

My work has been gallery represented for the last 20 years, primarily at Art on the Boulevard Gallery in Vancouver, WA and Clearwater Gallery (now Rickard’s Gallery) in Sisters, OR.  Currently, I am solely representing my own work as it ebbs and flows into the fabric of family life, and am dedicated to painting regularly in my home studio in Ridgefield, WA. 

I wish to express the most humble and sincere gratitude to God above for blessing my path abundantly. To my husband Rick, my family & my amazing parents, as well as all my collectors and gallery directors over the years.  Your support is a blessing to our family and has made my dream of painting professionally a reality.

THE BACK STORY

Born to a family where the artistic roots run deep, I grew up in Northern California, watching my mom pursuing painting, as she and my dad raised up our family. Following in the footsteps of my maternal grandmother and great grandmother, my mother continued to dedicate the small moments she could find in between raising us and homemaking, to grow in her art and teach art to children.  One of my early memories is sitting for my grandmother, on a San Diego balcony at the age of 5, as she painted my portrait.  

A horse crazy little girl, I spent my days on the back of a horse and learned to draw by sketching and painting horses copiously throughout my childhood.  My parents always encouraged my art and consistently provided access to quality art supplies, art books and weekend painting workshops.  

Though I was encouraged to pursue art school, I chose a different route, initially.  With dreams to one day run my own pack outfit, at 18, I loaded my horse and headed to a small mountain town called Quincy, in the Sierra Nevada.  Attending Feather River College, I earned my AA degree in Pack Station and Stable Operations, where we learned to train horses and pack horses and mules into the back country.  It was a wonderful and unique adventure that I wouldn’t trade for the world! I then transferred to Montana State University, where I took my horses with me (My horse foaled while in Quincy!) to roam the wide open spaces of Big Sky Country, and earned my bachelor’s degree in Business Management. One of my many jobs was working at a high end art gallery during my time in Bozeman, causing me to fall deeper in love with fine art.  This exposure to Western art set me on a trajectory to pursue art seriously.  Throughout my college years, I would frequently rise early to paint before heading off to my business classes.  

Several years later, following debilitating illness, I left the business world to establish myself as a full time painter, just before my husband and I started a family.  One of the best pieces of advice I received from a dear friend who was a professional working artist whilst raising beautiful babies was: “When the baby sleeps, you paint.” I took those words to heart and made painting daily a discipline, even when some seasons only allotted just moments in the day to pick up my pastel or brush. This kickstarted a rhythm and a discipline in my routine that allowed me to continue to cultivate an artistic life adjacent to raising a family.

I would call myself an aspiring impressionist, most influenced by Impressionist masters, Bongart, Zakharov and Fechin, and the exquisite light filled paintings of Sorolla. To this day, I continue to cup a warm drink in a handmade mug and pour deeply over my books celebrating these artists. Over time, these treasures feel like a visit with old friends.