I paint what I love…what captures me, amazes me, and what makes me smile…
Although I loved painting, coloring and drawing as a child, life often got in the way and often there was no time set aside for such guilty pleasures. After all, no one back in the 50’s and 60’s made a living at art, did they? So now that I am soon on the other side of 50, I have decided that I must find time to paint and create!
I returned to painting on a regular basis in my early 50’s and joined a group of other recovering “creatives” by following the course set up in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It started me on a path that led me to a place of growth and adventure – unlike any I have experienced so far. To quote another artist friend, “I have become an escape artist”…getting lost in what is real more often than the unreal. As stated in The Course in Miracles, “nothing real can be threatened, nothing unreal exists…”
A native of Minnesota, born in the port city of Duluth, I am familiar with beautiful scenery and extreme climate changes. In Minneapolis where I spent much of my life, I attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design for Graphic Design and took several art related classes at Hennepin Technical College for lettering and drafting. I also attended the University of Minnesota (Duluth branch) for two years. I worked as a graphic designer for approximately fifteen years assisting realtors and small business owners with advertising materials. When I did find time to paint in my small condo, it was most often small or miniature works. It wasn’t until I moved to the South West with it’s beautiful sunsets and expanding skies that my paintings became larger and less detailed.
Both Colorado and New Mexico been a rejuvenating place for me, both physically and spiritually. The art community here in Albuquerque is warm and welcoming, and the artists are generous and sharing of their talent and skills… I have taken classes with some of the best in the area and joining the Pastel Society began my affair with this medium. Artists friends and I have formed a support group called P.A.I.N.T. (Pastel Painter Networking Together) to make sure we have play dates and to critique each other’s work. Other mediums I enjoy are watercolor and acrylic.
My “luck” with entering shows has been good, although my father used to say that there was no such thing as luck. I have learned that there must be some luck involved as it does depend on the jurors and judges involved as to whether your work is recognized or not.
I started showing my work in 2009 and below is a list of exhibits that my works were juried into.
- PSNM’s “New to the Scene” art show at the Art’s Alliance Center (only non-juried show)
- PSNM’s “Small Works” Show at the National PSNM Show in 2009
- Masterworks Large Exhibition 2010
- Masterworks Miniature Show 2010
- PSNM National Pastel Exhibition 2010
- PSNM “Small Works” Show at the National PSNM Show 2010
- MasterWorks 2011 Large Exhibition
- MasterWorks 2011 Miniature Exhibition (sold work)
- 2011 PSNM National Pastel Show – Sold Work
- 2011 PSNM Small Works Show – Sold Work
- MasterWorks 2012 Large Exhibition
- MasterWorks 2012 Miniature Division
- Orchid’s Ole’ Exhibition 2012 at the Botanical Gardens (juried) Took 3rd place ribbon for my orchid painting!
- 2012 PSNM National Pastel Show
- 2013 MasterWorks Large Exhibition (2 works in show)
- 2013 Masterworks Miniature Exhibition (4 works in/sold 1)
- 2013 Orchid’s Ole’ Exhibition at the Botanical Gardens, Albuquerque, NM
- 2013 PSNM Small Works Show
- 2014 PSNM National Show
- 2014 MasterWorks Large Exhibition
- 2014 MasterWorks Miniature Exhibition
- 2017 PSNM Small Works Show at Studio J in Los Ranchos
- 2018 Signature Members Show in Los Lunas
- 2018 PSNM National Show at Sorrel Sky Gallery in Santa Fe
- 2021 PSNM National Show at Millicent Rogers Gallery in Taos, NM