My
paintings reflect my love of the natural world.I enjoy exploring, a term I uses to describe my travels, my backpacking
trips, my painting outings or just going for a short walk with my grandchildren
through the woods.Exploring the
outdoors evokes a sense of serenity within me and a feeling of peace and quiet
and this is what I try to convey in my paintings.I grew up on a farm in Michigan with eight
brothers and one sister.This early life
on the farm instilled in me a love of nature and exploring.My love of travel magnifies my love of painting.For me painting is a way to share my travels
with others and a way for me to revisit each trip.My travels have taken me throughout the US,
Canada, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Peru and Argentina.I started my art career in high school and have
continued painting ever since.My art
education continued on to college to earn an Associate of Arts Degree from
Alpena Community College, then a Bachelors of Arts from the University of
Montana, and finally a Bachelors of Fine Art from the University of Alaska
Fairbanks. There are two books that I
recommend reading and rereading for any artist.They are "Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting" by John E. Carlson and
"60 Minutes to Better Painting" by Craig Nelson.One of Carlson's quotes is "We do not paint
"exact" color; we paint them as they impress us, differently every day." I belong to several local and national art
organizations and my work has been accepted into several nationally juried
shows.Regardless of where I travel, I'm never without my
paints.