I am a native New Mexican.
As I grew up, I visited aunts and relatives all around northern New Mexico, especially around the Taos vicinity, where many of mother’s sisters and families lived. Since my youth, I have lived in and traveled to many other places all over the world, but my heart remains here in this often wild place.
My love of this land influences what I decide to paint. My husband and I moved to the East Mountains. Its beauty is endless, a constant source of inspiration and energy.
We are raising chickens for their eggs and I love painting.
Artist Statement
I see the wonderment of the world around me. This is what drives me to draw and paint. Painting outside, in nature, I am driven to paint what excites me. I try hard to “capture the magic.
All I can do is attempt to render on my watercolor paper the ephemeral, the effervescent… sunrises, sunsets, and effects of light I witness throughout the year.
I encourage everyone who loves the wonder of New Mexico to see the world through my paintings…through my eyes!
I am dedicated to the process of rendering the beauty of nature and the human form on a 2-dimensional surface, and I also love the potentially unpredictable nature of watercolor, and how it’s most beautiful effects occur by accident, or at least without much manipulation and control. Watercolor can have such luminosity and glow that it lends itself well to figure and flower paintings, as well as the dramatic skies for which our Southwest is famous. I feel I am continuously improving my understanding of this medium.
I am a member of the New Mexico Watercolor Society and paint currently with a plein air group. I have won many awards from the State Fair, NMWS and Masterworks. I also feel that the most important thing for an artist is to continue to paint and hone skills. I travel with my husband to many parts of the world, and I am fortunate to be able to frequent the Louvre, Orsay Museum and many other world-known museums in Paris, Vienna, London, and Chicago, where I sketch and study the exhibits and learn from past masters. In good weather I also paint when I travel, both indoors and outdoors.
I currently work in my home studio and teach both drawing and watercolor classes - drawing because it is an essential part of the painting process. I enjoy teaching both adults and children. I feel that having learned from many artists and many styles makes me a better teacher. My classes are lively and interesting, allowing the student to try to figure out what he/she really wants to achieve in his/her paintings.
I have taught adult and children’s classes at my studio and the New Mexico Art League.
