I was raised in Elmira, attended three colleges, Elmira College, SUNY New Paltz, and before finally getting my BA at Empire State College in 2005. For years I have studied with many artists in the mediums of watercolor and oil. To name a couple, Tom Buechner, from Corning and Staats Fasholt and Karen O’Neil from Woodstock NY. There are many others of course but the list would be very long.
As a young teenager i made a trade with my sister at Christmas for her paint by number kit and I spent hours painting for the first time. Being very busy at school I didn't think much of the play time and then one day I decided that I wanted to go to college and learn to be a painter but the catholic school I was in had messed up my education so badly that although I had taken all of the regents courses necessary I graduated with a locals diploma. You see I was not good at languages so failed Latin and barely passed French. I wanted my major to be Math but because I was a girl I was not allowed to take math beyond Algebra. In my senior year I switched schools thinking EFA could help me sort this out. Without a proper major a person got a locals diploma. Imagine the feeling when at graduation believing I was about to receive my Regents Diploma and there in the graduation hall i looked down and saw a locals diploma. No college there. Desperate, I went to my art teacher, who sent me to Burt Ryerson who said take my watercolor class and one english class at Elmira College and I will get you into New Paltz. God bless that man. By January I was enrolled at SUNY New Paltz.
Let the craziness of my life begin. My experience at New Paltz was disconcerting since my painting teacher said I should become an English major but I was acing my sculpture class. As I stood before the two men arguing about my skills and afraid I was about to get kicked out of college I carried on for another Two and a half years In my Junior year I chose to marry a man who was in the Air Force and who assured assured me I could still finish college. A year later and seven months pregnant with my first child as I as driving to college I was hit by a car going 65 miles and hour through a red light. yeah that was fun. I was unconscious for three days and only awoke due too severe birth pains. OK what next? We moved to England, came back two years later with two children, spent two years in Elmira and then returned again to England for five more years. By the time all was said and done and I mean that literally I had four sons. and a husband who absolutely did not love me or being married.
I returned to the U.S. was divorced devastated and on welfare with four children. One day while in a quiet moment I said to myself if I could learn to paint well I would love to help others to do the same thing. For some reason I just loved the process. and knew that others would as well. It was a place to regret from the stress of the day. Life began to pick up for me . For some reason the Elmira school system allowed me to substitute and I became a teacher for adults at EFA. I met a really wonderful man 11 years younger than me who didn't care if I was older and we got the family back on track, I joined ERAS in Elmira and met a wonderful friend and fellow artist Chris Thorborg who to this day is still a very dear friend. Wow! My painting is coming to life. I was showing my work but my confidence was very low. Then along came Tom Buchner who said “one day you won't have to paint in those bright colors any more” and he said I could study with him on Sundays. Six years later I had achieved pretty good skills but no color. It was so sad for me that I quit painting with Tom and started my studies at Woodstock with Staats Fasholt in watercolors and Karen O’Neil in oils. Starts had a very casual relaxed attitude with the watercolors which I greatly appreciated since everyone else seemed so uptight while doing the process. It has since then almost become a meditation for me. Karen O’Neil had a broad and colorful way of painting and it was fright up my alley. Let the painting begin with enthusiasm. I couldn't stop and the dishes had to be done. As a good mom I taught my kids to do that and their own laundry. Today they are now very independent and only one is married. Hmmm. Now I have more paintings than I know what to do with and my sons say don’t you dare burn them.Mom. I think they are hoping to get rich after I’m dead. That is how it is done . Right??
I have been working in the field of the visual arts for 43 years. For many years I have been teaching throughout the local school districts, the Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, 171 Cedar Arts Center, Corning, Franklin St Gallery in Watkins Glen, and from my studio in the Metropolis of Caton, NY,a village outside of Corning, NY. My students have ranged from ages 6 to as old as one can hold a pencil or a brush. For details see my resume. I am extremely grateful for all of the help I have received over the years and the events which seemed random at the time but were in the plan of my life.
When I turned sixty, my second husband left for a younger woman I experienced what I was told is called the dark night of the soul. Even though I knew it would happen before I married him I knew the marriage would be a good one for the time I had with him. To this day I still love him but he is gone now having died in his sleep at 61 due to the fact that he didn't want to get old.
Yes, it has been an eventful journey and much more has been left out but I choose to believe there is still much more to go maybe some not so easy but hopefully good times still to come.
In addition to painting I have written several children stories and am now playing with the idea of a book of short stories for adults. I have also written and illustrated a stress free watercolor sketching technique
booklet .
My artistic mission in life is to accomplish as many styles as possible in the mediums of oil, watercolor, acrylic, and drawing materials in order to be the very best and open minded teacher I can be and to satisfy my creative instinct to create something new. This was actually forced on me by my wonderful students since each one had their own style and dreams. When they ask me “how do I “ I knew I had to get to work and be as creative as possible in order to be the teacher they needed. I have a tremendous love of the painting and drawing process and I see in my students the same passion.
My classroom motto is, “there are no mistakes only opportunity for change.” With that in mind it is my hope to take away all fear and encourage skillful creativity. MY favorite quote is that of Picasso who said when criticized “Even God didn't keep doing the same thing over and over”.