Artist's Statement

"I paint the skies with peace and passion because that's the way they paint me."

Ancient Romans regarded the hour before dawn and after sunset as holy hours separate from the rest of the day; we still connect with that feeling. Most people will enjoy a beautiful sunset, and those that rise early enough, a beautiful dawn.

My medium is sky; I work in many different mediums to depict it: watercolor, acrylic, murals, oil, refractured watercolor, watercolor collage and mixtures of the above. Each offers different possibilities and have different strengths and restrictions. I also love working on different surfaces such as wood, metal, drywall or fiberglass, and on differently shaped surfaces, and can see 'canvases' in many places.

Painting was a frequent joy as a child and I dreamed of becoming a skyscapist. When I was young (pre-school, maybe through about 3rd grade) I painted huge skies with tiny mountains. One early photograph is of me at my little easel at about age 4. The painting that I had completed was a sky. Looking back, much of my early artwork was constructed with the emphasis on the sky.

Later, my soul was fractured open and poetry fell out and allowed me to fill the silence with words. In middle age, I had an epiphany: It was time to paint again, and I soon rediscovered the freedom of the clouds. But the poetry built up inside me as the sky continued to inspire, so now I write poetry for the paintings and incorporate it into my art.

Living in Imperial County means I am daily inspired by the skies of Colorado Desert.

Here are a couple videos about my work:

Interview at Maturango Museum
Creating a mixed media painting
Article about me in the Borrego Sun
Talking about my work on the SoulRise exhibit
Passcode: a!722S+j Yucaipa Valley Art Association Zoom Demo
Interview for Ontario Arts