My story — so far

While always interested in art, I’d never picked up a paint brush until I turned 40. My very talented aunt Muriel gave me my first painting lesson; she taught me to recognize that inspiration is all around, encouraging me to “just paint.”  Over the years I have read as many books about painting as I can find and I continue to do so.

Though I am largely self taught, I have been fortunate to receive some formal training at the hand — and easel — of my wonderful teacher Pat Hidson, an accomplished Wisconsin artist.  For the first year of my lessons with Pat, I didn’t even touch a paintbrush; I practiced drawing in many media the still life tableaux she would compose — her encouragement to practice, practice, practice is something that I’ve taken to heart.

I draw a great deal of inspiration from my time spent on coastlines — Cape Cod, Ireland, and Lake Michigan – as well as from the garden.  I think you’ll notice those subjects and palettes in my work (lots of green!).  While many of my earlier paintings are in gouache and watercolor, I’ve recently begun to create small oil paintings.  I am fortunate enough to spend much of my summers on Cape Cod, where the ocean changes every day, and those color studies fill more than a few sketchbooks….

Living in the North where the seasons change and where the winter lingers, color has become an energetic part of my daily routine and the urge to put color to paper (canvas!) is unrelenting, I’m happy to say. I have dozens of watercolor sketchbooks filled with images of the day – some very ordinary when I’m at home and some very interesting when I’m travelling.