Biography

Artist Statement

After eight years of painting semi-realistic expressive watercolors, I began to experiment with collage, acrylic, and a more abstract style. This new nonobjective evocative approach now anchors my contemporary work and has become my passion.

Worldwide travel and the American Southwest where I live continue to be my primary influences and inspiration. I love the labor-intensive layering of paint and paper as I mine and refine my work to represent the concepts and the heart of the places my paintings represent.

My paintings have between 15 and 25 layers of paper, paint, and found materials. I put on and I paint over and I take away, always building, tearing down, and altering the surface. Sometimes I feel like an archaeologist - searching, digging, scraping, pounding, looking for the meaning of the painting. Oftentimes, the final painting is completely different from the original concept that I envisioned. It is this unpredictable evolutionary process that I find most challenging and most exciting.

Shows and Exhibitions:

August 2010. Toys in the Attic juried into 13th Annual International Society of Acrylic Painters (ISAP) Exhibition, Santa Clara, CA.
July 2010. Uptown Downtown juried into Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Association (SAACA) Abstract and Contemporary Art Exhibiton, and wins First Place.
May 2010. Three-artist exhibit Faces, Places, and Spaces, Blue Raven Gallery, Tucson, AZ.
April 2010. Feature artist, Flux Gallery, Tucson, AZ.
January 2010. Nile River #1 juried into Roads Less Traveled exhibiton, Blue Raven Gallery, Tucson, AZ.
January 2010. Summertime Mesa juried into Four Seasons exhibition, FACE UofA, Kachina Gallery, Tucson, AZ.
January 2010. Pollination juried into Contemporary Artists of Southern Arizona (CASA) Flight and Feathers exhibition, Tucson, AZ.
December 2009. The Rim juried into Arizona Edges show, Tubac Center of the Arts, Tubac, AZ.
November 2009. Blue Mesa Spring juried into 2009 Tubac Center of the Arts Members Juried Exhibition.
October 2009. Harvest II juried into Contemporary Artists of Southern Arizona (CASA) Fusion exhibition, Tucson, AZ, and wins Best Use of Color Award.
September 2009. Shaman and First Snow juried into Human Element show, Tubac Center of the Arts, Tubac, AZ. First Snow wins Award of Merit.
August 2009. Navajoland juried into Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild annual show, Tucson, AZ.
August 2009. Summertime Mesa juried into The Richeson 75: Landscape, Seascape, Architectural Exhibition, Kimberly, WI.
August 2009. Group exhibit. Summer Gallery 2009, Tubac Center of the Arts, Tubac, AZ.
July 2009. On the Porch chosen for 2010 AARP annual calendar.
June 2009. Blue Mesa Spring juried into 2009 International Society of Acrylic Painters Annual Exhibition, Santa Cruz, CA, and wins Most Experimental Award. Signature status achieved.
June 2009. Harvest juried into 2009 International Society of Experimental Artists Annual Exhibition, Bethlehem, PA.
May 2009. Dinner at Estefan’s juried into Cuisine Art Exhibition, Blue Raven Gallery, Tucson, AZ.
January 2009. Juried into Active Membership of Arizona Arts Alliance, Phoenix, AZ.
February 2008. London Westend and Timeworks juried into Contemporary Artists of Southern Arizona (CASA) Collage as a Way of Seeing Exhibition.
December 2007. Heartland and Silk Road juried into The Richeson 75: Artist’s Choice Exhibition. Silk Road wins First Place.
November 2007. Juried into Active Membership of Contemporary Artists of Southern Arizona.
September 2007. Saqqara juried into Tubac Center of the Arts Members Exhibition, Tubac, AZ.
August 2007. Timeworks and Che juried into Arts International Annual Exhibition, El Paso, Texas.
April 2006. Santorini Hillside and Mykonos at Midday juried into MasterWorks of New Mexico Annual Exhibition. Santorini Hillside wins Award of Excellence.
April 2006. Solo Exhibit. The Teahouse, Santa Fe, NM
October 2003. Solo Exhibit. Art Soup Gallery, Bainbridge Island, WA
July 2003. Private Seattle Solo Exhibit.
May 2003. Hallelujah Palms juried into International Art Society Annual Exhibition, Houston, Texas.
October 2002. Private Seattle Solo Exhibit.
August 2002. Solo Exhibit. Rainshadow Gallery, Bainbridge Island, WA.