Short Biography

I have been a native of NE Ohio for my whole life. I went to Brush High School and graduated from Kent State University with a BS degree in Biology. I spent my working career in industry and after I retired I went back to what I love and became a Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist (OCVN). I volunteer at The Holden Arboretum leading hikes through the natural areas. I tapped into my creative side at Holden creating whimsical sculptures for a non scary Halloween event with a crew fellow OCVN people.

I was self taught doing oil painting during Jr High School but didn’t have time after I started high school. Because of my early experience painting with oils I have noticed throughout my life the way light and shadows give shape and depth to everything we see. My art skills had not improved since Jr High so I took a drawing class a Lakeland CC. I learned a lot about drawing and then took Painting and Life drawing at Lakeland. My main medium is now acrylic paint on canvas. I like doing pictures of the natural world, including close ups of plants and animals, landscapes, people and also man made structures or objects.

Being outdoors gives me an inner peace which I try to incorporate in my paintings. I try to honor nature by creating a painting that can bring the awe I feel into an indoor living space.

Artist Statement

I enjoy being outdoors and observing nature. I am inspired by the incredible beauty, complexity of interrelationships between mineral, life and energy. The natural world is constantly changing and I try to capture a moment in time.

I like to observe nature and the way light illuminates things and how our mind can use shadows and reflected light to interpret their shapes and texture. It is challenging to take a flat canvas and apply acrylic paint to create the illusion of depth.

I like to use photographs for reference when I paint. This helps me keep a realistic look to my work. Most of the photos I take myself but I sometimes use those of my friends with their permission. With a painting I can add, enhance or ignore things and capture a pleasing representation of a time, place and mood.

Being outdoors gives me an inner peace which I try to incorporate in my paintings. Nature can be beautiful and I attempt to honor it by creating a painting that can bring the outdoor beauty into an indoor living space.