Creating at the monthly meeting with my fellow artists of the Pahrump Artists and Artisans group at the Pahrump Valley Museum.
About Me
I was born in Portland, Oregon. While still young, our family moved to New York, then to Massachusetts, back to New York, and finally to San Rafael, California, where my sketch pad and I first started down the path to becoming an artist. In the early 1970s, my music teacher, Jeane Noble, who was also an accomplished artist, invited me to join a painting class. That class further helped me develop my artistic eye and talent, and I found the joy of mixing colors and putting them on canvas. After studying and painting the magnificent golden hills and dark green oaks of northern California, I moved to Orange County (and briefly Riverside County) then back to Orange County. Upon retirement, I had a dramatic change of scenery when I moved to Pahrump in 2014 with my husband, Jeff.
Art inspires me whether I’m the creator or the observer. There are many kinds of art and just as many ways to create it, experience it, and enjoy it. The things that happen when I paint amaze me. Sometimes, I instantly think, “Wow, that’s neat!” and other times I struggle to translate the image from my mind to my canvas. Other times, I end up covering over what I painted the day before. That’s why I like acrylic paints. I can quickly “erase” things I don’t like. Oddly enough, some of my “mistakes” end up being my favorite parts of a piece.
Sometimes, I create a painting in an hour; other times it may take days, months, or years to finish. I like to employ a variety of different tools in my creations, from small brushes to the splish-splash of the palette knife, depending on my mood. I enjoy the way painting transports me from the bustle of life into the calm of creation. When I purchase art supplies, I continue to be astounded by the number of times a cashier or other store employee will say to me, “I wish I could paint.” I always ask, “Have you tried?” Most of the time, the answer is, “No,” or “I can’t even draw,” or some other admission of defeat. I always respond that I didn’t know I could paint until I actually gave it a try. My advice to everyone is, “Try it! You might like it!”
On the carousel are some of my favorite paintings representing different styles and subjects.
