A Little About Me

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  I’ve always loved the loose, flowing, transparent look of watercolors, of Chinese paintings and their     calligraphy, but alas, no watercolor classes were available when I was in school, so that interest remained  buried until my children were grown.  Even then, I was afraid that I couldn’t really paint, so upon my  sister’s advice, I actually started to take classes.  I signed up for every class available, determined to learn  no matter how afraid I was.  I came upon a teacher, Stan Miller, who inspired me, who opened the door to  success in watercolor.  I love to look at beautiful images.  I want to capture them forever.  All my life,  photography was how I gathered images of the beauty I saw.  Thanks to all that photography, I enjoy  composing pictures, especially up close.  Watercolors allow me to add more of me in their translation of  that beauty.  My paintings reflect my love for music and dance, with their rhythm and flow.  I am  fascinated by the play of light, so it appears in my pictures as drama for they are filled with darks and lights.  Maybe it’s the challenge, maybe it’s the beauty, but now, when a work comes together, it fills my soul.

I was born in Spokane, Washington in 1948, but moved a lot in my early years.  I drew a little then, and even had my drawing of a grasshopper, done at age 9, featured in the local newspaper.  I’d waited the whole day for my dad to read that newspaper and notice my drawing, but he never got to it, so I had to tell him about it at the end of that day.  Most of my creative spirit was expressed through photography, though, not drawing.

After graduating from college with a degree in Art Education (with photography as my major interest), I settled in Spokane again, with my husband.  I taught 4th grade at Cataldo Middle School for a year, then I taught Art at East Valley Junior High for 4 years.  At that point we moved to Leavenworth.  There we raised our 2 boys, until my husband got a job in Spokane.  My focus continued to be with my family.  With our boys now grown, I have found the time and energy to pursue this passion…this passion for watercolors and their delicate translation of the beauty I see.

I retired from my day job in 2012, finding myself on the road with my husband, traveling in our 40′ Safari Zanzibar RV.  With all of our exploring and moving along, I find that painting time seems hard to come by.  When we move from exploring mode to lifestyle mode, I’m sure I’ll get back into painting again.  I am writing a blog of our adventures, so check out the “links” for that address.

I work on museum quality, archival paper, in transparent watercolor made from the finest pigments, formulated to professional standards.  Colors are lightfast, stable and permanent.  Paintings are mounted on acid free, neutral pH mat board.