BIOGRAPHY

BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS

***  Childhood, pre-artistic inspiration awakened  by my mother's interior

        design and color coordinating skills

***  Lived in Bogota, Colombia, S.A. - 1974 - 1985

*** Artistic "Birth" - Bogota, Colombia - 1975

*** Self-taught artist ... enhanced by classes and workshops throughout the years ... 40+ artistic experience

*** Ongoing love affair with: Spanish Colonial Architecture; Quaint villages

        of the world; Rambling, red rooftop shapes; The pristine solitude and

        exquisite Being of the U.S. Southwestern rock formations; Native faces

        from around the globe

FULL VERSION BIOGRAPHY

Basically, I am a self-taught artist. During my childhood and adolescent/teenage years, I can remember always being attracted to colors and their combinations.Thanks to my Mom, who had an intrinsic artistic sense of balance, color and composition both in the decorating of our homes and in wardrobe coordination, these traits became intrinsic parts of my own nature and laid the foundation for my eventual “self-discovery” as an artist.

This did not happen overnight. My husband had been transferred with his company to Bogota, Colombia. So, we packed up our home, and with our, then, 2 children, made the move to this beautiful South American country where we ended up living for 11 years and where my third child was born. The initial impact on me of our new home was electric --- from the gorgeous, lush landscapes, invigorating climate, and lovely, enterprising people to the charming architecture---I was on sensual overload!

After the initial settling in, I began seeking an outlet for the strong creative urge which had been persistently pushing its way to the forefront of my consciousness, and enrolled, as a result, in the principal outlet with which I was familiar: an interior design course. The first few months had us drawing designs and simple plans which emphasized the development, in black and white, of shading and contrast. I so fell in love with the drawing process, that I dropped out of the course and began taking off on my own. Shortly thereafter, I discovered an affinity for portraiture through a small weekly portrait workshop with a gifted woman artist. Her encouragement and guidance was paramount in my development as a portrait artist.

The quaint, rambling, Spanish Colonial architecture, evident everywhere the eye traveled in Colombia, also played a huge role in my artistic development, and, to this day, still influences me tremendously. The red rooftops and windy villages of the world are magnets for my art.

A third important impact on my development as an artist was a wonderful journeyto the Southwestern United States and its fascinating red rock landscapes and Native American villages. All of the above plus many years of spiritual exploration on different levels are what still drive my art. Over the years, I have experimented with a large variety of mediums. For portraits, I offer 3 techniques:  1) a gradual building up of contrasts and color using colored pencil with crosshatching; 2) watercolor/pen & ink, with colored pencil highlights; 3) acryllics with colored pencil highlights

My landscapes, both architectural and natural, are done with multi-mediums—using either acrylics or water colors as their base and defining with pen and ink and colored pencil highlights.  For my visionary abstracts, I prefer metallic acrylics and metallic markers with layers of glitter and/or crystals and beads.

For me, there is no greater joy than that of really getting into the creation of art.  When this process truly occurs, one loses all sense of time, space, events, etc.and becomes fully alive in the moment.