artist teacher coach dreamer

Artist Statement

I paint because I feel I have to. It’s an urge that seems as needed as eating and sleeping. For me, doing something creative is living; creating is learning, growing, questioning, discovering, connecting. Painting allows me to explore life and express visually what is felt internally. This is my passion. I must create to be fully alive.

I paint abstract images with layers of color and symbols in an effort to find a place of peace amid the chaos of our lives. My painting visually signifies life as I know it, uncertainty alongside hope, imperfections amid nature’s beauty, structure alongside serendipity and chance. These juxtapositions conjure questions and allow me to pause in our fast-paced, high-tech world.

I am inspired by nature: seasons, time, change, color; for example, I become awed by all the shades of pink in one flower, or the light blue sky as the horizon line meets the deep blue of the sea. Equally inspiring to me are life’s mysteries, experiences, and questions—of how we live and interact with one another. Various symbols make appearances in my work to contemplate those sentiments. For instance, a drip of ink falls where it may, flat quiet areas of color appear with a key hole, hidden words are magical incantations. A house symbol conjures notions of home, connections, basic needs, relating to others with similarities and differences...

The painting process allows for time to slow, to be present in its production, and to ponder. I approach the canvas and allow the creative process to flow and chance to play out using acrylic, ink, and oil. I let it unfold intuitively. Layers are applied thick over thin, sometimes sanded, and then thin layers are glazed. Other times a dream shows me what to create, or a page in my art journal is made into a painting. Ultimately, painting affords me the opportunity to dream, to discover, to wonder...

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts: History of Art and Practice of Art, Honors in Practice of Art, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 

SELECT EXHIBITIONS 

2020.05—Monterey County Studio Tour Artists, Group, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA

2019.06—The Colors of Summer, Solo, Testarossa Winery, Carmel Valley, CA
2018.09—Monterey County Studio Tour Artists, Group, Seaside City Hall, Seaside, CA
2016.08—One Hundred Years, One Hundred Artists, Group, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA 

2016.02—Color, Time, Symbols, Drips, Solo Show, Carmel Valley Library, Carmel Valley, CA 

2014.09—Monterey County Studio Tour Artists, Group Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA 

2014.06—Exuberance, Solo Show, Lalla Grill, Monterey, CA
2014.07—Over and Around, Solo Show, Carmel Valley Library, Carmel Valley, CA
2014.02—Poems to the Sea, Group Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA
2013.05—Tiny Treasures, Group Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA
2013.04—We just work here, Group Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA 

2013.02—Artists’ Equity Board Show, Group Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA 

2012.12—Miniatures, Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
2012.10—Indian Summer, Solo Show, Carmel Valley Library, Carmel Valley, CA
2012.06—Big and Small, Solo Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA
2012.06—Tiny Treasures, Group Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA
2012.05—Spring Blossoms, Group Show, Carmel Valley Library, Carmel Valley, CA 

2012.05—Marvelous Miniatures, Group Show, Monterey Library, Monterey, CA
2012.05—Richard Shaw’s Former Students 40+ Years, Group, Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkeley, CA 

2012.02—Passion, Group Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA

2012.01—Another Day in Paradise, Solo Show, Böeté Winery, Carmel Valley, CA 

2011.12—Patron’s Show, Group Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA 

2011.10—We are the Music Makers, Group Show, Tree House, Carmel Valley, CA 

2011.09—Open Studio Tour Artists, Group Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA 

2011.06—Tiny Treasures, Group Show, Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove, CA 

2011.05—Garden Show, Group Show, Carmel Valley Garden Club, Carmel Valley, CA 

2011.04—Life as I know it, Solo Show, Carmel Valley Library, Carmel Valley, CA 

2010.12—Arts Habitat Fundraiser, Group Show, Carmel, CA 

2004.02—Pastels, Solo, Colorado Springs, CO

2001.07—Chancellor’s Show, Solo, University of California, Berkeley, CA