Bio
Raised in rural western Michigan, I excelled at drawing and painting from an early age. I began working as a graphic designer in 1973 at the age of 16 and went on to have a long career as an award-winning advertising art director. In 2020, I began pursuing painting full-time. My work is heavily influenced by my time in the advertising business where I honed my skills as a visual communicator and storyteller. Although I have taken an introductory college painting class, I am otherwise self-taught as an artist. My paintings have been selected by juries in national and international competitions and exhibitions including the FiKVA Award for Painters in Belgium, Museum of Contemporary Art in Nashville, Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati and American Women's Artist Association. My work has also been featured in leading art publications including Artist Magazine, Create! and Studio Visit Magazine, and is in several private collections. I currently live in Nashville, Tennessee.
Artist Statement
I create hyperrealistic paintings of still lifes composed of man-made objects placed together to form a narrative. I approach my work like an explorer looking for meaning in the physical world through the things people interact with. As artifacts of human activity, objects contain symbolism connected to history, culture, beliefs, and subjective experience. When placed together, the objects take on new more complex meanings that allow me to examine a wide variety of emotions and ideas.
My artistic process begins with singling out an object I want to work with. One that intrigues me, connects with me or piques my curiosity. With the intention of finding a story, I then intuitively place other objects in context with the original object based on what seems to feel right. After many combinations and adjustments, I arrive at a composition that deepens, shifts or clarifies my perspective in some way. Finally, I depict the resulting scene with great detail. It is a slow process that allows my thoughts and feelings to surface with minimal outside influence. The stories that emerge are often unexpected even to me.
Ultimately, painting helps me make sense of the world. I hope my work is viewed as an invitation to find personal connections to the narratives and provides a mechanism for reflection.
Exhibitions
2023
Annual Online Juried Show, National Juried Exhibition, American Women Artists
Up in Arms, Juried Exhibition, The Museum of Contemporary Art Nashville (MOCAN) in partnership with Cë Gallery and Arts4Impact, Nashville, TN
Still, International Juried Exhibition, Awarded Best of Slow, ArtFluent.com
FiKVA Award for Painters, International Juried Exhibition, Top 100, FiKVA-foundation (Figuratieve Kunst Vandaag), Antwerp, Belgium
At Rest: A Still Life Invitational, Group Exhibition, Customs House Art Museum, Clarksville, TN
Pushing Forward Reaching Back, National Juried Exhibition, American Women Artists, Brookgreen Gardens Museum, Murrells Inlet, SC
She, International Juried Exhibition, ArtFluent.com
2022
FiKVA Award for Painters, Top 35, International Juried Exhibition, FiKVA-foundation (Figuratieve Kunst Vandaag), Antwerp, Belgium
Mood, International Juried Exhibition, ArtFluent.com
Mimic, International Juried Exhibition, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Spring Online Exhibition, National Juried Exhibition, American Women Artists
Feminist Insight: Telling Her Story, National Juried Exhibition, Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery, Fayetteville, NC
Breaking Through: The Rise of American Women Artists, National Juried Exhibition, American Women Artists, Customs House Art Museum, Clarksville, TN
2021
Narrative Still Life, National Juried Exhibition, Catholic Art Institute, Chicago, IL
ViewPoint 53, Cincinnati Art Club’s National Juried Exhibition, Cincinnati, OH
Publications
2024 / Art Fluent, Curator's Choice, March 2023
2023 / Studio Visit Magazine, Volume 51
2022 / Create Magazine!, Volume 33
2022 / Artist Magazine, Artists Over 60, March/April Issue
Memberships
American Women Artists, Associate With Distinction / website
Newsletter Archive
2024
March / A leap of faith.
2023
June / Slow art.
2022
December / The art of persistence.
May / What's this all about?
February / A work in progress.