My artistic practice grew from a strong foundation in drawing and printmaking. I earned a BA in Studio Art with an emphasis on charcoal drawing, followed by an MFA in Two- Dimensional Concentration in lithography. I spent several years working as a graphic designer before feeling drawn back to creating fine art. At first, I returned to drawing with charcoals. Slowly I began to experiment with soft pastels. With limited experience, I painted small-scale pastels but was unsure how to mix color and apply marks to the surface effectively. To deepen my understanding and build my confidence with the medium, I studied with two accomplished pastel painters—Jeanne Rosier Smith and Shelly Eager.
Landscapes serve as my primary source of inspiration. Many of my paintings depict locations within parks, gardens, and wildlife refuges. Having traveled extensively, these environments feel like a natural subject for my work. These scenes foster an immediate sense of familiarity and quiet observation creating a connection between the viewer and the artwork. Through these landscapes, I hope to encourage reflection on one’s relationship with the natural world. I have begun to include architectural elements into my works exploring how these spaces interact with nature.
I created graphic print designs and websites. During college and graduate school, I took some classes on graphic design and page layout. After graduate school, I found a position working as a desktop publisher formatting Microsoft Word files and creating a pamphlets and flyers in Adobe PageMaker. Over the years, I further developed my skill set by learning new applications within Adobe Creative Suite while working at a quasi-public agency.
Examples of my design work include: Brochures, Catalogs, Flyers, Newsletters, Web Graphics, and Websites. I worked on a number of print designs for small businesses and groups over the years.