Bio

I began my painting career at six years of age, using pieces of cardboard and my mother’s oil paints and pastels. My bedroom became my studio where I drew fashions and faces and learned to sew. As a teen I studied fashion design, illustration and commercial art at a Park Avenue studio in Montreal. Working at Bell Telephone in the days before computers, I drew large engineering “plats” for work crews.

Over the years, living in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, my creativity took many paths as I learned, explored and dreamt of the next project. In 1980, I began teaching art, and continue to teach both students and adults in my home studio.

Retirement opened new doors, giving me more time to paint and to pursue my passionate focus on colour, shape, texture and space. Travel expands my sensitivity and understanding and feeds me with ideas. Iceland, Scandinavia, Britain, Europe, the Caribbean, Japan and other parts of North America are hugely inspiring, and wonderful opportunities to sketch and write as I tour.

I work in acrylic, watercolour and mixed media, in paintings and drawings. My artwork is both non-representational and representational, and hangs in juried shows, galleries and in private homes internationally. My studio also produces wearable art, rugs and quilts made from recycled materials.

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“Today the world is being dramatically impacted, with our environment under life-threatening attack. The paintings I create in my studio are my way of giving voice to these environmental and social issues, the heartbeat of the planet we call home.

My travels in northern parts of the globe and my strong spiritual connection to trees, water, rocks and sky have largely informed the subject of my artwork. I paint the wonders of snow, forest and waterfalls, of blooming fields of wild flowers and the magic of the setting sun.

I paint in bright colours because I want the observer of my artwork to feel the energy in the paint. My paintings can be joyful, celebratory, a tool of warning, hopefully awe-inspiring.