"I enjoy painting in both oil and watercolor. I create my oils in many layers beginning with a pencil drawing which is often my favorite part of the process. I continue by adding layers of paint and papers.
"Many of the papers I use have significance to me. They range in variety from an old piece of writing as early as 1860 to parts of my seven year old daughters spelling words, and some even include fragments of my own sketches. I have always loved paper and enjoy incorporating them into my oil paintings.
"My watercolors also begin with a drawing. I like that watercolors allow the pencil marks to be seen, and find the process of layering watercolors from light to dark playful and relaxing.
"Many of the things I love show up in my paintings, and I am always finding new things to love. For instance I started painting roosters after a trip to the state fair when I was struck by the color of their orange eyes next to the red that surrounds them. I fell in love with architecture while on an art history tour in Europe. I love the timelessness of architecture… it is here before us and remaining long after we leave. I am also influenced by the things I collect such as vintage buttons, beautiful fabrics…and of course paper! When I was nineteen I came home from Germany with a suitcase full of fabulous papers!
"We live in a world in which we are constantly moving, if not physically our minds are always active. We do not stop often enough to appreciate the beauty of the person we are and the potential of who we may become. I try to capture these moments in the paintings I create. Moments where the worth of one lies not in all they do but simply in recognizing who they are. When I create a painting I try to create a place in which I would like to escape…. place of beauty and perfection, a place of peace."
"I love to study other artists and among those who have influenced me the most are Lizbeth Zwerger, and John Singer Sargent. I live in Utah with my daughters Aleah and Eve who are often times the inspiration and subjects of my work.
"I feel that it is not by talent that I have become an artist but by a never ending desire to create and the persistence to try, and try again. A favorite quote of mine is by Julia Cameron 'Remember by being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance over time to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one.' "
