I was born in Burlington, North Carolina into a family where the only art on the walls to my memory were some inexpensive reproductions of 2 Picasso paintings. Looking back, I would love to know why, in a traditional N.C. family, Picasso was the artist of choice! I took no art or art history classes in school and only one class in Egyptian art history at the University of N.C. at Chapel Hill during my undergraduate study. My degrees are in Education and I spent my "first" career as an adult teaching everything from preschool to special education. Although I didn't teach art, I did use art in many of the lessons with the children. It was fun teaching in a way where children were learning, but thought that they were just having fun.

 

As for my art background and training...it hardly existed. When I was about 12 or so, I took some summer lessons from an art "teacher" in Burlington. Her MO was to take over my drawing and pretty much finish it herself rather than letting it be an expression of my creativity. It was also a lot of copy work so that turned out to be pretty worthless. Then, as a young adult I tried watercolor in night school with my husband. That was frustrating! So, I dropped it. I decided that if I started a gallery I could be around art constantly and express my creative side in the framing of art. That worked for many years until I had a burning desire to try to paint again.  Now I paint in acrylics, oils, and cold wax.  I love it all!

 

In 2010, I went with a friend to Sicily on a whim (and at the suggestion of a psychic we saw in New Orleans). Hers proved to be good advice! Since that painting trip, the desire in me to create is constant. I explore different mediums and styles and know that my Gemini soul may or may not settle down into one definable "look". However, I just love the process. It is very rewarding to stand in front of an easel with a blank canvas and just paint what comes from within. Many (or even most) times it is nonrepresentational. I love the paint and I love color and like to see where it takes me when I turn myself over to the right side of my brain. I don't want to paint to people's desires in order to sell my art. Rather, it has been very rewarding to just paint and have people respond and purchase the work when they don't know that it is mine.

 

THANK YOU so much for supporting my love of painting.  It is hard to describe the feeling of creating something original that comes from deep inside and having people relate to the painting enough to want it in their homes.