Artist Statement
For me, the joy of art is exploration, curiosity and trying out new ideas as I respond to the emotion awakened by the subject at hand. I am also excited by the physical aspects of painting: the smell of the paint, the vibrant or muted colors, the turn of the press or sweep of the brush, an unanticipated effect, all of which add to the pleasure of seeing a blank canvas or paper become a new world.
My style is most often representational, especially when trying to capture a sense of place: the play of light, the sense of depth, the quality that makes this place special. I attempt to go beyond the immediate scene to find the intangibles that set the subject apart. What we can see in the visible world is only part of what exists, and it is difficult to know how to represent what isn't there or isn't easily available to our limited senses. I continue to explore new ways of depicting that elusive awareness. In the search for that inner vision, I sometimes paint more abstractly, whether “realistic abstract” or pure invention.
Short Biography
I first studied art in the 1970s while living in Cuernavaca, Mexico, at the Escuela de Bellas Artes. I continued traveling and lived in many places in the U.S. and abroad until returning to Baltimore, MD, my hometown, where I painted only sporadically while working as an ESL teacher and raising a family. In 2001, I began studying and painting intensively, at Towson University, University of Notre Dame of Maryland, the Mitchell and Zoll Schools, as well as attending specialized workshops in other areas of the U.S. Since 2013 I have been working in my Mill Centre studio when not painting en plein air. My primary focus is landscape, with some still life and interiors, chiefly in oil and watercolor. After a workshop in printmaking, I fell in love with it and finally was able to buy a small press for my studio. My husband and I still travel often, and I find inspiration for painting both here at home and in my travels.