Lightness of Being Painting

My interest in art began with art projects such as drawing as a favorite way to pass the time growing up in Michigan. In high school, my interest expanded when I discovered I loved working with clay. After receiving an AA degree from Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Michigan, I moved to Monterey, California in the early 80s and attended Monterey Peninsula College to study art. There, I became passionate about figure drawing and submerged myself in ceramics, as well. After two years there, I moved to Mount Shasta, California and attended College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California. My focus there was printmaking and photography. After that, I pursued a Bachelors in Art at Chico State University in Chico, California. There I spent most of my time in the sculpture department to learn sculpture techniques and explore the figure in a variety of sculpture mediums. Eventually, sculpture became my emphasis, and I continued to sculpt the human form at Humboldt State University. There I received my Masters in 1989. My graduate show consisted of life-sized, expressionistic, figurative sculptures made of Ferro-cement. After I had graduated, the female figure prevailed and, I worked professionally as a sculptor with Ferro-cement, wood, and clay, creating figurative indoor/outdoor sculptures for a total of fifteen years. Then in 2008, I decided to return to my first love of drawing and created a substantial body of work in pastels. Three years later, after being encouraged by a gallery owner, who was representing me at the time, I began to invest my creative time in learning oil painting. At that time, oils became my medium of choice. Also, as my medium changed so did my subject matter and, today I focus on translating my love for nature into my landscape paintings. That is as the figure once inspired me for many years, now my love for nature fuels my creative spirit. Now, after several transitions and years of study in most mediums, I have developed a unique style and vision in oils on linen or canvas and more recently, acrylics on canvas. Regardless of the materials or means of expression my soul has always been and continues to be ignited by the creative process. So, I feel a sense of continuity because my experience in one medium influences another. And today, as always, my creative process continues to be an intuitive problem-solving endeavor that requires being open to the ever evolving experience.