About me
I am a painter and educator residing in San Clemente. A native Californian, I was born in San Diego and have deep roots in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I attended the San Francisco School of Art and the San Francisco Art Institute. The birth of my daughter led me to focus on a (more stable) career in publishing. However, my passion for artistic expression continued unabated, and as soon as I could I returned to my art practice, carving out a spot in my garage to paint late into the night.
For the past 20 years, I have continued to develop my artistic practice, centering my work on the natural beauty and social challenges of my home state. In my professional life, I moved from publishing to education, serving as an art teacher, a teacher in an arts-integration middle school, a disability services counselor for a community college, a communications instructor. My art practice has been informed by my work with students and experience as an advocate for the disability community. In my work I blend text from vintage publications with evocative imagery, seeking to inspire viewers to practice empathy and compassion in all aspects of their lives.
about my process
It all begins with inspiration… a conversation may spark an idea, or perhaps I’ll come across an evocative antique book, or maybe I’ll see an interesting tree or pile of seaweed on one of my walks.
For this discussion, I’ll focus on the latest in my series of paintings inspired by high tide on a local beach - a 24x30 acrylic called Tidefoam, shown on the left. I began by taking photos of seafoam and kelp washed up by the tide. Back in my studio, I chose some pages from a 1930s dictionary, focusing on words related to sea life and water, and mounted them on a birch panel with matte medium. I then did a rough sketch, based on my references. After that, I layered several glazes in varying hues to build up the background, and then began the incredibly fiddly and time-consuming business of painting the final images in acrylic, using tiny brushes. I finished off the piece with a gloss coat.
Note: All of the publications that I use for my work are very old (usually 100+ years) and in poor condition.