It’s summertime in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico. I’m biding my time until the colors begin to change. That is the time of the year when colors are maximized, better paintings are possible as far as I am concerned.
My road to this point in life has been thankfully long and varied. As a little girl in central California, our home was nestled at the base of an outstanding, literally, mountain. A creek flowed nearby. We had many possibilities of outdoor entertainments, including bicycling to the local store. I began drawing at about 5 years old and had a commercial venture of selling penny-a-piece small pencil drawings. My mother caught me at a neighbor’s where a large jar of pennies promised an early wealthy retirement.
A year in Italy, while in college, changed my life. I went to see art from the Etruscans, the Renaissance, Impressionists, and modern. Free time led to travel to Greece, Israel, Russia, and most of Central Europe and the British Isles.
I returned to California to finish a Master’s degree and was immediately hired to teach in Australia, where I stayed for three years, seeing as much of the continent as possible.
Back in California, I worked in a bank for 4 years, then taught in a community college, adjunct for 4 more years. I returned to Australia and Italy.
When I married and my husband gave support for my art, I began painting in the 1990s. I had tried my hands at pottery, quilting, weaving, and jewelry making, but painting is now my passion. My learning curve began with watercolor for 20 years and oil painting the last 15.
We relocated from central California to the northern New Mexico village of Truchas in 2007. I opened a gallery in my home, that being my primary goal. I was happily surprised to be in other galleries, the Taos Gallery, Manitou, and now La Posada de Santa Fe.
I am often invited to show in Cowgirl Up in Wickenburg, AZ, and the Mountain Oyster Show in Tucson.
