Studios 15 & 16

Artist bio

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, I call myself “All American.” While I lived in various states as a child, most of my childhood was spent in Massachusetts. I moved to St. Louis, Missouri after high school, where I have lived on and off since.

Although I love art of all kinds, my primary influences are the Impressionists. The colors and strokes of Monet, the fluidity of Turner and the emotions of Van Gogh all inspire my artwork. I am also influenced by the paintings of the old masters such as Rembrandt who used beautiful fine detail and rich lights and darks.

A Quote by Wassily Kandinsky says so beautifully what I feel about my art “Of all the arts, abstract painting is the most difficult. It demands that you know how to draw well, that you have a heightened sensitivity for composition and for color, and that you be a true poet. This last is essential.” I am a colorist. I have been fascinated with color ever since I saw my first crayons named red-orange and orange-red. Why did they look so different yet have similar names? This fascination with color has continued throughout my life manifesting itself in my pursuit of color and the paintings I create.

I use the sky as my vehicle to express my relationship with God. After a storm when the light emanates from behind the clouds, I see this as God’s Grace. The rainbow is His promise and the light His grace. The lyrical abstract paintings are my interpretation of God’s Grace. I work with different compositions layering and blending colors one over another to create depth of space and compositions that reflect my spirituality and represent both romantic and sublime themes such as joy, peace, divine grace and hope. Viewers of my work often describe it as ethereal and emotionally evocative.

I received my Bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri, St. Louis and went on to earn my Master of Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting and drawing from the University of Illinois – Champaign/Urbana. In 2011, I was juried into the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, MO where I currently exhibit my paintings and teach classes in watercolor, acrylic, oil and drawing.

My paintings have received many awards and honors in local, regional, national, international juried and invitational exhibitions. My artwork is represented in many corporate and private collections. I have been an art instructor for over thirty-five years, having taught classes at the St. Louis Artist Guild, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and at the St. Louis Community College - Florissant Valley, Forest Park and Meramec campuses, as well as, St. Charles Community College.