Using the camera as a resource for my paintings, I take numerous photographs of the Northeast landscape. They include scenes from Holmdel Park, Cheesequake Park and Thompson Park in New Jersey as well as Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, and also, more recent world travels. With a desire to evoke a sense of place, I focus on the accidents of nature's design by using strong compositional elements as groundwork for my paintings. The resulting landscapes have a clarity and luminous quality that freezes time and space, allowing the viewer to escape, if only for a moment, to the tranquil world of my making.
Starting in 1997, I began to incorporate the figure of a child in my landscapes. A young girl intermingled with nature's foliage adds a new metaphorical dimension to my work with implications of youth, renewal and blossoming innocence. In early 2000, I developed and nurtured my own children's garden, a uniquely structured environment, which has become a magical place of beauty, where my mysterious narratives can take flight.
More recently, I have been pursuing the challenge of portrait paintings, initially concentrating on children, but now including adults. I am available for commissions.
Born in San Antonio, Texas, raised as an Air Force "brat", I have frequently moved around the country. I attended eight different schools in five states, eventually settling in New Jersey, most recently in Aberdeen. I attended Rutgers University, Kean College and received a BA Degree in Art from Thomas Edison State University. I have been studying with Grace Graupe-Pillard since 1993. I have exhibited widely in the Monmouth County area, including The Monmouth Museum, The Middletown Library, Guild of Creative Art, The Art Alliance, Thompson Park Visitors Center, NJ Center for the Healing Arts, Freehold County Records Office and the Mitchell Sandborn Gallery. I have also had solo shows at C & S Wholesale Grocers and Johnson & Johnson Corporate Center and the Middletown Library.
My art business has been designated as a "Trusted Art Seller" with The Art Storefronts Organization, which means you can shop with confidence, and know that I stand behind the quality and value of my products.