"The purpose of art is to ask questions"–Lawrence Weiner.
My compositions spring from a fascination with language and its profound connection to the thoughts and emotions of the people I paint. I ask of the work, "Who is this person? What are they thinking? How did they get here?" As a contemporary figurative painter with a strong commitment to social justice, I continually delve into the narrative quality of the human form with primary attention to women, their aspirations, and their struggles.
I came to Tucson, AZ, in 2018, originally from Michigan. My interest in becoming an artist began at age 5 when I dreamed of taking my art from my parent's refrigerator into the world. This dream took shape in high school years after one of my paintings juried into the Michigan Wildlife Art Awards in 1975 and was published in Michigan Natural Resources Magazine. From there, my work sold to my teachers in high school, college, and then post-graduate school. After earning a B.A. in Art Education from Michigan State University in 1979, I found myself navigating single parenting and its economic challenges, which led me into the financial services industry for many decades thereafter. I continued my art practice attending Kendall College of Art and Design toward the M.F.A, constantly yearning to return to full-time focus on painting. This dream became a reality in 2021.
Working primarily in oil, I often begin with words, phrases, or stories and then invoke connecting imagery. A recent focus has been on polysemous words (spelled one way but with multiple meanings). For example, my "Rose" piece can be about a flower, a girl's name, a color, or an action, such as "She rose above the clouds."
My work is in private collections from Massachusetts to Arizona and corporate collections such as Ocala Eye Care and Mitsubishi International. It also shows up in juried gallery and museum shows throughout the U.S., notably San Diego Museum of Art and Gadsden Art Center and Museum, Quincy, Florida.