From a young age, I knew I was divergent and my creativity, a portal.

I call myself the accidental artist for two reasons: first, because I was the youngest child, my parents did not have the energy or time to redirect my left hand dominance. And, secondly, because my after school Campfire Girls troop disbanded, my mother was desperate to find an activity for me. There was an artist studio near my parent’s restaurant. I asked if I could take lessons. To this day, my teacher Maria holds a special place in my heart. From my first lesson at the age of 9, I have lived my life as an artist.

My career in art has been immersive and diverse. I was an Art Director in high fashion advertising. After a decade of prostituting my talents manipulating people to purchase things with labels, I burned out, packed two trunks and moved to Rome. There I studied realism painting and worked in film production. Upon return, I married and had two daughters, my masterpieces. My husband and I ditched the rat race in favor of raising our kids barefooted on a farm in Hawaii where my teaching career was born. While on Kaua’i, I became part of a grassroots effort to shift the paradigm of education in Hawaii to give creativity and the arts equal value to intellect and academics. My expertise became curriculum and program development. I then went on to implement programming that afforded schools throughout the state Art Excellence distinction and grant funding to maintain those programs. Upon return to my home state of California, I shifted to the non-profit sector. I was the Executive Director for a public trust that researched and nurtured creativity for well being. We provided after school arts enrichment programs to title one (poverty level) schools, tactile and expressive therapy for children on the Autism spectrum and hands-on creativity brain health programs for the aging population and those recovering from stroke and brain injuries. My teaching years were an exceptionally rewarding period of my career.

While well versed in all mediums, painting is at the core of my lifelong artistic journey. I am now semi-retired and refocusing on my fine art. After my husband died five years ago, I knew I needed to reinvent myself and return to nature in order to once again thrive. I found a little island in the Puget Sound, that while completely different, feeds my soul just as Kaua’i did. I am full of life again, exploring and painting the wonders of the Pacific Northwest from my forest sanctuary on Vashon island. True art is expression with exceptional value but should not be produced as a product. It has always been the process that I rely and focus upon. I get lost in it to be found.