Perfection Images - About The Artist

I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. My grandmother was an artist and continued painting in oil until her death. Many of her paintings still hang in my mother’s home. Now my own daughter is an aspiring artist and plans to obtain a degree in art.Her interests lie in a different subject altogether, but her talent is evident. College will develop her style and technique much quicker than on her own.

As a child I spent hours reproducing photographs with pencil. Any artistic endeavor interested me. Throughout high school, art classes were foremost on my list; figure drawing, batik, sculpture, painting. My subjects varied, but most were, as a young girl, mainly horses. Although my teachers encouraged me to draw other things, horses were the love of my life growing up. I drew them in every imaginable setting, and later owned them as an adult.

I grew up in sunny southern California, in the then small town of Vista, just north of San Diego, and have lived in Washington and Oregon and the northeast (Maine) as well. Through the years I polished my skills in the two mediums I prefer most, Pen and Ink, and Pastel Painting. I studied different techniques on my own, developing my own preferences, and painted what I liked. Many pieces went to friends and relatives, some I have kept, but not many. The joy I receive in seeing the delighted faces of those I gift with my work is all I need.

When I discovered Gordon Setters, I found that drawing them in Pen and Ink reproduced the beautiful faces I so dearly loved. I began doing commissions for the people I met. So many wanted my work that I began making prints of the ones I created for myself. With the Internet being such a big part of our lives now, it’s possible for me to display my work to anyone who has a computer.

I am a part-time artist and do not make my living from it. I am an engineer by day, and travel much of the time. When I am home I try to spend as much time as possible with my artwork, as it relaxes me. Recently, however, I have developed an allergic reaction to some of the pastel chalks I work with, so my Pastel painting has slowed some until I can discover a good solution. Surgery masks work well, but are annoying. Oil pastels offer less dust, so I am experimenting with those at the moment.

In March 2007, I moved to Tallahassee, in the sunny state of Florida, as my health suffered living in the cold winters of Maine. Although I miss the beautiful and wild areas of Maine, I am enjoying the prospect of exploring the very different state of Florida. My work continues as before, in the engineering field, and the warmer weather allows greater freedom by day, to show my dogs, and ride my motorcycle.