Inside of Optimism Painting

I graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1982. I have been painting ever since. I have always wanted to live on Cape Cod, having taken frequent vacations here in the summers growing up. I have been living here for 15 years now which is a fabulous environment for a visual artist. When I'm not painting, I enjoy taking walks with my dog on the various trails, woods and beaches. Though I am a professional artist, I do documentary transcription part-time as well. Being on Cape Cod inspires me to create paintings that are uplifting to me and hopefully to the viewer as well. To this end, I am drawn to working with bright, bold colors or soft pastels. Though I've worked with oils and watercolors, my favorite medium is acrylic paints and the majority of my paintings are with that medium. A strong element throughout my work is light - both physically and spiritually - through a combination of realism and abstraction. My mission is to capture a sense of spontaneity and tranquility or movement, energy and exhilaration through the interaction of colors and shapes. Some of my newer paintings are interwoven with elements of nature such as sand, bark, stones and shells to give the painting a 3D appearance. I like to work more by feeling than technique, letting the painting in a sense "create itself" with myself as the conduit to the visual message. So it is therefore more about flow than form. There is no right way to interpret my art. My hope is that it is uplifting for the viewer. Ultimately my art is an invitation "to dream." I have won awards for some of my paintings, one being Gathering Storm, another being Morning in Tuscany and another being Provincetown Beach (all over which are sold but are on this website) among others. If you want to see a greater list of my affiliations, exhibitions and awards, you can visit my website, . Those it is outdated, you can still navigate around the website. I am a member of many of the arts organizations on Cape Cod.