I'm a painter living and painting in Portland, Oregon. I've been a professional artist for 25 year and painting for 13 years.
I've taken a few painting classes over the years, but my art education was the lived experience of growing up with an artist mother and an artist brother. I saw them in "artist mode" and sat next to each of them doing what they did. My brother would draw and paint, so I would do that. I grew up watching my mother do pottery, needlework, cake decorating, Japanese folk art and decorative egg art so I tried all that. I loved drawing, coloring, cutting and paint-by-numbers sets. Throughout my adult life I’ve explored ceramics, sculpture, collage, glass mosaics and textile art, but my true love is painting. After retirement from teaching, I spent twelve years painting intuitive visual stories with lots of color and images of people - usually girls and often dogs. In 2025 I began focusing primarily on abstraction with no storytelling.
At the heart of my work is the belief that creating art keeps the door open to the imaginal realm from which a more beautiful can be created. I use bright color and bold mark-making to express my joyful focus and curiosity about the painting process. I experience it as a collaborative process between body, mind, studio space and what the painting itself wants to become. I think it's fascinating, magical and fun.
I hold Open Studio Events and exhibit in shows and galleries in Portland and the surrounding areas. I am represented by RiverSea Gallery in Astoria, and have been a featured artist on Oregon Art Beat, with the International Society of Experimental Artists and on the Naked Radio podcast. I love to share my art, so scheduled studio visits are always welcome.
I've taken a few painting classes over the years, but my art education was the lived experience of growing up with an artist mother and an artist brother. I saw them in "artist mode" and sat next to each of them doing what they did. My brother would draw and paint, so I would do that. I grew up watching my mother do pottery, needlework, cake decorating, Japanese folk art and decorative egg art so I tried all that. I loved drawing, coloring, cutting and paint-by-numbers sets. Throughout my adult life I’ve explored ceramics, sculpture, collage, glass mosaics and textile art, but my true love is painting. After retirement from teaching, I spent twelve years painting intuitive visual stories with lots of color and images of people - usually girls and often dogs. In 2025 I began focusing primarily on abstraction with no storytelling.
At the heart of my work is the belief that creating art keeps the door open to the imaginal realm from which a more beautiful can be created. I use bright color and bold mark-making to express my joyful focus and curiosity about the painting process. I experience it as a collaborative process between body, mind, studio space and what the painting itself wants to become. I think it's fascinating, magical and fun.
I hold Open Studio Events and exhibit in shows and galleries in Portland and the surrounding areas. I am represented by RiverSea Gallery in Astoria, and have been a featured artist on Oregon Art Beat, with the International Society of Experimental Artists and on the Naked Radio podcast. I love to share my art, so scheduled studio visits are always welcome.