We did not create the drama of the cumulus clouds above the lake, nor did we tell the camellia flowers to open in perfect geometry, nor did we create the rich yellow lights of sunset.
When the weather is good, I like to go to a local park to paint. I try to pay close attention to my subject: a rock, a tree, a cloud or the water. I may finish a plein air study on the spot, or return to my studio to change the composition or colors or start another painting. It’s a challenge to juggle shapes, colors and values to represent an object in three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface, and at the same time to convey my feelings about the subject. I use photos for reference, but my goal is not photographic accuracy, rather it is to create what I feel about what I am seeing The experience is alternately meditative, exasperating, thrilling and fulfilling. Sometimes easy and sometimes difficult, painting is always 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
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