About the Artist

Retired from a career as a psychiatric nurse and adjusting to an empty nest at home, I joined the board of the Tracy Art Center, a small local art school in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Exposed to the exciting artistic activity at the center I was encouraged to begin drawing and painting. In the years since, I have studied painting and drawing with Nancy Tracy, Bernie McTigue, Noel Belton and Leif Nilsson. I also began painting with a group of talented women artists; who have become my support team. 

Painting outdoors from life is both stimulating and challenging and I feel blessed to live in such a beautiful place on the Connecticut shoreline. This environment offers never-ending beauty and challenges to paint. The venue never disappoints, offering encounters in composition, color and a great place to chase the elusive light.

Cooking and gardening, two of my other "loves," also influences my painting. I enjoy painting still-life.... food and flowers from the garden.

For me, painting with oil is best... its smell, its thick texture; the way it covers the canvas like frosting. I use both a variety of brushes and palette knife to create the look and feel I want in a painting. To get that "certain effect" I have been known to use Q-tips, rags, even kitchen utensils!

Painting has taught me to see differently than before....color, light, nature. Painting challenges my assumptions about the  color of things in life; grass is not always green; the sky is often not blue. Now where ever I go and whatever I do I am constantly looking for something I want to paint.

Painters paint for different reasons. I paint because I enjoy it and it is fun, and I hope my paintings will bring the same joy and fun to those to see them.

Professional Affiliations:

Essex Art Association

Lyme Art Association

Madision Art Society

Mystic Art Center

Tracy Art Center