Painting has always been a part of my life, but only in the last 20 years have I had the time to give it my full attention. I must say that as manager of Red Raven, I have received the most amazing influence and instruction that any art class could offer. I have been directly affected by all of our artists and have completely enjoyed studying all of their work each and every day.
I have always been intrigued with the written word and much of my work has either written words, music, or maps within. I became facinated with my own mother's beautiful handwriting. Cursive writing is such a dying artform. So I had my mom write in a tablet all of my favorite poems, and various verbiage that we both enjoyed. I typically scan it into my computer, print it on rice paper and sink it into each painting. I also have fallen in love with palette knife painting and of course squeegees. There is something about the butteriness of the paint that I simply love. And then I equally enjoy scraping out and allowing any underpainting to peek through.
I started my career at The Rhode Island School of Design. Although I went there as an Illustration major, I realize now that I would give anything to go back as a painting major. After college I started a business called Fine Impressions. I had designed a line of jewelry and home accessories. Fifteen busy, crazy years flew by and I had hardly lifted a paint brush. When I turned 40, I closed up the business, decided to start painting, and bumped smack into Red Raven’s need of a manager. It was a perfect fit and has combined many of my interests. I look forward to painting for the rest of my life.