It can take a year or longer to create an oil painting, from the conception of the idea to taking the source photographs to the completion of the painting. My oil pieces are very planned and full of personal meaning. Working with encaustic mediums, hot beeswax mixed with resin, does not allow for precise work. It dries in minutes and because it is hot wax is unpredictable by nature. I find the two mediums keep me creatively balanced.

Whatever the medium, painting is a meditative experience. When I dip my brush into the oil paint or hot wax, time ceases to exist. Some people call this the zone or being in the flow. Whatever you label it, I think Cecil B. DeMille’s quote says it best for me, “Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” My happy place is my studio.

My current encaustic works are a salvage project. A friend’s art books were ruined in a flood. I use the various book images in my works along with old jewelry. The encaustic medium transforms elements of the ancient masterpieces into modern day works. It is an honor to bring these works to a new audience in a new way.

I have a fondness for painting flowers because they make people happy. Because life is not all hearts and flowers. I also express my voice through oil paintings about mental illness and the vices that go with it. I feel art is a great visual impetus for conversation about important societal issues.

For me, being an artist is about touching people’s lives. I have heard more than once: Your painting is about me. It’s my story. It connects with me. Some of my paintings have prompted tears and hugs. As an artist, the emotional connections created by my work are priceless to me and why I paint what I do.

Juried Shows

• Lawrence Street Gallery, Body Eclectic, February 2025

• Grosse Pointe Artist Association, The Team, January 2025

• HMVC Gallery New York, ‘Cuz I’m Happy, January 2025

• Scarab Club, 111th Gold Members Show December 2024

• Riverside Art Center, The Winter Solstice December 2024

• Lawrence Street Gallery, Think Small December 2024

• Swords into Plowshares, Women's Liberation November 2024

• Riverside Art Center, Anything but Canvas September 2024

• Art 634, Reduce-Reuse-Recycle Art Exhibit, August 2024

• Glen Arbor Arts Center, Shrines + Altars, August 2024

• HMVC Gallery New York, Piece of Me Art Show, February 2024

• Plymouth Community Arts Council, What is Your Sign?, January - February 2024

• PARC Art Gallery, Art and Soul Exhibit, Plymouth, MI Jan -Mar 2024

• Hot Days Cool Art Exhibit & Sale, PARC Art Gallery, Plymouth, MI, June 2023

• Seeds of Change | Resilience | Show hosted in partnership by Women's Caucus for Art Michigan and the 22 North Gallery in Ypsilanti, Michigan (April 2023 to May 2023)

• Looking for the Light, Galerie Camille, Detroit, MI (May 10 to May 31, 2022)

• Black Box Gallery, Dearborn, MI (June 6 through July 31, 2022)

• Huron River Artist Collective Fall Show, Malletts Creek Branch Library, Ann Arbor, MI (Oct to Dec. 3, 2021)

• Three Cities Art Club 9th Annual Juried Exhibit 2021-2022, Westland City Hall, MI (Nov. 5 to Jan. 17, 2021/2)

Non-Juried Exhibits

• Sweetwaters Canton, MI May - June 2024

• Honeycomb Gallery, Farmington, MI currently on display

• Joe and Rosie Coffee and Tea, Dexter, MI (Summer 2021/Fall 2020)

• Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea, Ann Arbor, MI (Summer 2020)

• Between the Comments, fundraiser for the National Alliance of Mental Illness (virtual July 1-14, 2020)

Retail Partner

• Frameworks, Plymouth MI

Memberships

• Scarab Club

• Riverside's Ypsilanti Fine Arts Club

• Three Cities Art Club