There is a lot of beautiful nature right in my neighborhood, and I find inspiration in the local parks around where I live. I usually start with a sketch to develop a composition and range of values. Sometimes I work up a more detailed drawing before I go paint. The challenge--always--is to juggle shapes, colors and values to represent objects in three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface, and at the same time to convey my feelings about the subject. If I want to develop a plein air painting back in my studio, I use photos for reference, but my goal is not photographic accuracy, rather it is to create what I felt about what I was seeing. The experience is meditative and fulfilling, occasionally exasperating, but always rewarding. Painting is an exciting process that keeps me engaged and striving to do better.
I live and work in Bellevue, Washington.
Solo Show
So Barbie, Steele Gallery, Gage Academy of Art, Seattle 2018
Group Shows
Views from the Pacific Northwest, Gage Academy of Art, Seattle 2022
Edmonds Arts Festival, Edmonds WA, 2022
Kang O’Higgins Atelier Show, Axis Pioneer Square, Seattle 2016, 2017, 2018
Best of Gage, Gage Academy of Art, Seattle 2016, 2017, 2018
Gage Ateliers Exhibition, Gage Academy of Art, Seattle 2016, 2017, 2018
Holiday Small Works, Gage Academy of Art, Seattle 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Spitting Image/Self-Portraits, Gage Academy of Art, Seattle 2016, 2017, 2018
She Don’t Look Back, Garden of Eden, Gene Juarez Salon & Spa, Seattle 2017
Mt. Rainier: Homage to Modern Artists, Landscape Painters Northwest at Evergreen Church, Burien WA 2012
Mercer Slough- Summer, Landscape Painters Northwest at Washington State Convention Center, Seattle 2011
Roche Harbor Boats, View from Orcas Hotel, Buck Bay, East Sound, Roche Harbor View, Phinney Art Walk, Seattle 2006
Susan, Arts of Snohomish Juried Art Show, Snohomish WA 2005
Persimmons on a Plate, Palo Alto Juried Art Show, Palo Alto CA 1975
Education
Gage Academy of Art, Seattle 2015-2018, Kang O’Higgins Atelier
Gage Academy of Art, Seattle 2006-2015, Foundations of Drawing, Various Classes &Workshops
University of Washington Extension, Seattle 2002, Certificate in Advanced Drawing & Painting
Brooks College, Long Beach CA, 1987, Certificate in Fashion Design
University of California, Berkeley CA, 1984, M.B.A.
University of California at Santa Cruz, 1974, Bachelor of Arts, Art History
Vanya, Gage Academy of Art, Seattle 2011: 2nd PLACE (Beginner-Portrait) Juried by Bellevue Arts Museum Artistic Director Stefano Catalani