Art has always been an integral part of my life. I believe the art we admire reflects some part of ourselves, although we may not fully realize why we are drawn to a particular piece. I returned to painting and drawing as an adult, I studying at the Seattle Academy of Fine Art (now the Gage Academy of Art) in Seattle, Washington.
I wonder how much my past work in organized and logical occupations— as an educator and a librarian— has informed my art. I look for patterns in shapes and landscapes. I notice the way light changes both colour and form, and how perspective can make the very big look very small or the very small look very big. My paintings are calm and orderly.
I notice the beauty of everyday things and often choose subjects that are close at hand. I like to paint things that stimulate my eye, particularly different kinds of landscapes. These can be panoramas involving distance and patterns in the large scale view, the interior landscape of plants and flowers, or objects that typify the landscape of our everyday lives.
I am fascinated by the Zen-like qualities that the act of creating can invoke. That serenity seems to flow through my brush and into my paintings. I like to think that their tranquility might provide an oasis of calm for people who are drawn to them, those who might be seeking a brief reprieve from the frenetic world.