All my life has centered around art. Growing up in Missouri with my father being a scenic artist steered me into earning a bachelor of fine arts degree from St. Louis University with special interest in oil painting. While attending school, I painted murals for the theater department. After graduation, my experience enabled me to obtain a position as a production artist for Reynolds Metals and then a position as a medical illustrator at Washington University in St. Louis.
Every city I’ve lived in offered a different artistic avenue to explore. As an outlet for creativity, I produced wheel-thrown pottery at Craft Alliance in St. Louis. Moving to Toledo, Ohio, I acquired glassblowing skills from the Toledo Museum of Art. This afforded me the opportunity to display glass work at art shows around the Midwest, winning several awards. Moving to my present home in the Detroit, Michigan, area, I returned to my roots of oil painting and found plein air. I met inspiring, supportive people in the Michigan Plein Air Painters, Plein Air Troupe (Metro Detroit), and Plein Air Artists of West Michigan. Now, rain, snow, or shine, I’m painting multiple times a week.
As a member of the Pallet and Brush Club in Southeastern Michigan, I won awards at the spring 2014 exhibit and the 2019 Paint Creek Center for the Arts show. Winning second place in the emerging artist competition at the 2015 Paint Dexter Plein Air Festival was exhilarating. My work is currently displayed at Heritage Park in Farmington, Michigan.
