Artist's Statement

I like to think of my work as a portfolio of paintings of simpler times: a focus on the objects of everyday life which get overlooked due to everyday life ~ a simple bouquet, a rocking chair angled toward the sea,  a child's wagon parked by a cottage's overgrown bushes, sandcastles, old vehicles,  a sunset, a breaking wave, and more. I appreciate these simple scenes.

For me, they make Life Beautiful.

And as a painter, I choose to celebrate them through my art.

When I choose a scene or composition, I think often of a painter I admire, Norman Rockwell, who said unabashedly:

           "The view of Life I communicate in my pictures excludes the sordid and the ugly.

              I paint Life as I would like it to be". 

Being a traditionalist and Romantic as well, I love to add a Spirit of whimsy, color, energy, and flair.

These are my inner sparks which I hope engage you, the viewer, with the Beauty of the Everyday.

Artist's Bio

In the fourth grade at my tenth birthday, I received five  paint-by-number sets! And so began my passion for paint and color. Each day after school I would happily paint the pre-outlined panels of ballerinas, clowns, cocker spaniels, or floral bouquets. Soon, however, more serious endeavors intervened like academics, piano and bassoon lessons, tennis and golf lessons. My days of joy-filled "painting" receded. 

I graduated from Mount Holyoke College, received a Masters' from Clark University, earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Boston College, and established a 25 year psychology practice in Portland, Maine.   All the while, the painting urge lay dormant until I finally registered for a Continuing Studies class at Maine College of Art. Then I was not only re-united with paint and color, but was making  my own compositions, choosing my preferred subject matter and palette.

The JOY returned!

I subsequently closed my psychology practice to take more classes at MECA and to study with (the late) Janet Manyan and Diane Dahlke. I have since taken wonderful workshops with other inspiring artists like Lois Dodd, Carol Marine, and Maine's Holly Ready, Stan Moeller, and (the late) Dennis Perrin.

I enjoy painting on Monhegan Island off the inimitable Maine coast, painting in Bordeaux,  Provence, Tuscany, or just setting up an easel in my own backyard. Whether working on a still life indoors or a scene en Plein air, some of my happiest moments (starting at age 10) have been spent at the easel. I hope that Joy is obvious to you as you view these selections. I now winter in Naples, Florida and show in exhibits there. Be on the lookout for some warm weather scenes!