Welcome to AllArtWorks Featured Artist Series!
1. What other profession is similar to being an artist and why?
I became a registered nurse right out of high school. Thirteen years later, I stumbled on an adult education watercolor class that changed my life. The colors and textures of art fascinated me so much that I returned to college to explore more. At the time, I had three things to overcome: a broken heart, humiliation, and a zero bank balance. Yet art pulled me through. One small step at a time, I endured. I've been a professional painter for 30 years. Although being a nurse and an artist seem incongruous, they’re very much alike. Both occupations focus on compassion. Nursing, with its hands-on contact with a patient, has an emotional effect, and art has an emotional impact when someone views it. You can read my entire journey in my memoir: "A Lone Birch," available on Amazon and B & N.
2. What’s the nicest thing you can remember someone said about your work, or an individual piece?
“I’d like to buy your Niagara Falls painting,” a customer said. I scanned the collection of available art, squinting at the various waters scenes, looking for any signs of rushing, foaming water of the mighty Niagara Falls. Instead, I found smooth horizontal lines reflecting peaceful and serene water. I was certain I’d heard her correctly, but Niagara Falls? Of course, I wanted her to purchase a painting, but I couldn’t tell which painting had caught her eye. Like the water, I stood still – not trusting myself to speak, instead, I simply swallowed and nodded. “That one,” she said, pointing to the wall. “I spent my honeymoon at Niagara Falls fifty years ago. And that painting is the perfect memory, especially since my dear Ron and I just had our wedding anniversary. Such precious memories. Precious indeed.” Who cares if she saw rushing water in the painting, and I saw quiet reflections? Having someone take ownership of one of my paintings is the greatest compliment I can receive.
3. What’s one thing you’d like everyone to know about you as an artist?
I'm inspired by the birch tree with its high-contrasting black and white bark. This tree has the tenacity to survive the harshest conditions, such as forest fires. After such devastation, it burrows its roots deeper, only to resurface into a new and stronger tree. Like many of you, I've endured struggles in my life, and the birch reminds me to find courage, reemerging with determination, and hopefully a bit wiser.
4. What’s something you haven’t done but you want to do in art/painting?
Paint a three-piece canvas series larger than 4 x 8 feet each - my largest to date.
I prefer Delacroix as his use of expressive brushstrokes and his study of color shaped the work of the Impressionists - my heroes.
*The reason we ask about Delacroix and Ingres is because they were contemporaries with wildly different styles!
