ARTIST STATEMENT
Every summer for my first 24 years, I awoke to the smell of salt air and the crash of the breakers outside of my window. My grandparents had an oceanfront house in New Jersey, and it faced the sea. It’s not surprising then that now, on the “other coast”, my interest is still in the ocean. I’ve also had a fascination with light, whether it’s the brightness glistening off of the breaking waves, or the sunlight emerging from the cloudscapes that I paint. Although the skies can sometimes look troubled and the waves imposing, there is always a glow that promises something good yet to come. There are many schools of thought when it comes to experience. My mother painted when I was young and I still have the box of oils that my father gave her for Christmas one year. I always loved to draw. That interest led me to colored pencils and doing intense close-up portraits of big cats. Having friends who were trainers at the San Diego Zoo didn’t hurt, as I was allowed to get very “up close and personal” with some of my subjects. I switched to oils when I met and married my husband, who also uses that medium. Now our home is redolent with them! I’ve learned many things along my journey and modified and applied what worked for me by close observation of what I see. That has been my training, and I find teachings in new things every day.
