Biography
I have been creating art most of my life, however, after taking art classes in high school, I took a short hiatus to raise a family. By short, I mean 30 years! It wasn't until I was urged by my daughter to enter into a program to begin my formal art education. I haven't looked back! I worked hard to receive my BFA and my certification as a New York State Art Educator. I then went on to receive my Masters in Art. As an educator, my joy is seeing another person create something that they are proud of and can feel a sense of accomplishment Currently I am employed at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum as an educator and Artist in Residence. I wear many hats at the museum and each day is a new experience, but one of my most rewarding roles is the art facilitator for the Making Memories Dementia patients. I have recently become certified in Dementia Care, so I am able to create a project geared toward these special clients and their caregivers. It really gives me pleasure to see how they can go beyond my own expectations of what one can accomplish when given the opportunity!
On the days I am not working at the museum, I am working in my home studio or painting outdoors. I find the greatest inspiration in my own garden. I have a wide array of flowers and I watch for my favorite birds and butterflies come to visit. My subject of greatest interest are things of the natural world: landscapes and floral. I love examining how how petals on a flower communicate with one another and how light and color create harmony within a natural setting. Currently, I am in the process of studying Botanical Illustration at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, New York. My love of nature and the the elegant style of this traditional art form has inspired me to challenge myself with this rigorous certification program. Although most of my prior experience has been painting en plein-aire with oil paint, I am now exploring other mediums as well. I enjoy both the bold, colorful stokes of the paintbrush as well as the fine, delicate detail of a graphite pencil. I am creating more of my work in watercolor which has always been a struggle for me but I now find pleasure in the transparency and immediacy that this medium offers. I recently began collecting butterflies and started to incorporate them into my paintings. They are such beautiful creatures and are just a joy to paint!
I have been creating art most of my life, however, after taking art classes in high school, I took a short hiatus to raise a family. By short, I mean 30 years! It wasn't until I was urged by my daughter to enter into a program to begin my formal art education. I haven't looked back! I worked hard to receive my BFA and my certification as a New York State Art Educator. I then went on to receive my Masters in Art. As an educator, my joy is seeing another person create something that they are proud of and can feel a sense of accomplishment Currently I am employed at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum as an educator and Artist in Residence. I wear many hats at the museum and each day is a new experience, but one of my most rewarding roles is the art facilitator for the Making Memories Dementia patients. I have recently become certified in Dementia Care, so I am able to create a project geared toward these special clients and their caregivers. It really gives me pleasure to see how they can go beyond my own expectations of what one can accomplish when given the opportunity!
On the days I am not working at the museum, I am working in my home studio or painting outdoors. I find the greatest inspiration in my own garden. I have a wide array of flowers and I watch for my favorite birds and butterflies come to visit. My subject of greatest interest are things of the natural world: landscapes and floral. I love examining how how petals on a flower communicate with one another and how light and color create harmony within a natural setting. Currently, I am in the process of studying Botanical Illustration at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, New York. My love of nature and the the elegant style of this traditional art form has inspired me to challenge myself with this rigorous certification program. Although most of my prior experience has been painting en plein-aire with oil paint, I am now exploring other mediums as well. I enjoy both the bold, colorful stokes of the paintbrush as well as the fine, delicate detail of a graphite pencil. I am creating more of my work in watercolor which has always been a struggle for me but I now find pleasure in the transparency and immediacy that this medium offers. I recently began collecting butterflies and started to incorporate them into my paintings. They are such beautiful creatures and are just a joy to paint!
