MeettheArtist

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A native of North Carolina, USA, her award winning work has been eagerly accepted by corporate and private collectors internationally.

ARTIST STATEMENT

A particular light , a certain day, a common subject, unusual qualities, calm but compelling emotions -- embody the art I aim to produce. However important, technical bravura and likeness is not enough. A formulaic convenience that fits each painting is impossible so my challenge is to create an emotional dialogue between the viewer and the work of art that retains enough interest to span generations. I don't want the viewer to be concerned with technique at their first glance. The viewer should first be taken up in the moment, the sheer joy of seeing art that first stands on its own as a beautiful work of art.

In a still life it is no different even though the object are inanimate they speak just as loudly with emotive qualities. To some people it might be just a little green vase, but a Roman glass to me is a miraculous, fragile, artful dodger of wars, earthquakes, volcanic lavas since time AD and deserves to be immortalized in a painting. Yet like the creative spirit, whose existence is a journey, the fragile traveler has a quiet strength that speaks to me as I juxtapose the delicate iridescent shape many times until Fibonacci strikes the right note. I aim for each work to resonate with viewers as much as it does with me--that it piques a pleasant aesthetic experience each time it is revisited and if we are lucky it will be for many years to come.

Her first, fifty pen-and-ink works, garnered over 30,000 gallery visitors and local television and newspaper exposure in association with preserving historical landmarks. The second, a corporately commissioned solo show, toured across the Untied States, induced a stream of private commissions, and fired an entrepreneurial spark to open a retail art gallery, framing center to parallel her art production.

Attracted to a more dynamic art climate, she parlayed proceeds of her retail business to set up studio in New York City and later Europe. Her work was collected and represented by Wally Findlay, proprietor of galleries bearing his name in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, West Palm Beach, Chicago and Paris In Europe, her work trailed into galleries and private collections mainly in The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

Trained in eight different media, she prepared well for filling commissions. Her life experiences, diverse and enriching, required keeping a waitlist in four countries and honed her into a generalist, able to paint many subjects and work in many media. She continues to fill a variety of commissions, while requests move her toward a specialization in classical portraiture. Her artistic inclination is supported by professional artist memberships, juries, board positions and awards.

Her art production and teaching methods are influenced by the art and education stream outlined in The Flowering Staircase, the Dutch Golden Age as well as by contemporary artists such as Henk Helmantel (NL), Evert Thielen, (B), Jacob Collins, Daniel Greene, Jamie Wyeth, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Ted Seth Jacobs (F) and Nelson Shanks --many of whom not only produce professionally, but who are passionate about educating others to secure classical art fundamentals and traditions for future generations. Fascinated with theories associated with brain dominance and the drawing skills, she believes Dr. Betty Edwards made the most important mainstream impact in contemporary art educational models in schools and in the business culture.

When not in her (indoor) studio, one may find her atop towns or villages in southern France and Italy painting en plein air. She holds workshops, where in addition to painting in beautiful places, she weaves the magnificent art history of the area into an art-producing itinerary, for example: Giverny -Monet's Garden and House, Richard the Lionhearted's Castle, Van Gogh villages, Cezanne's studio, Roman architecture, and many more.

Her work is currently self-represented in Europe and the United States by the company, Dutch n Duchess, LLC

I knew art was my life before anyone else in my family realized it. The only way I would ever consider choosing a book was by its cover, the type of letters. the white space on the pages and of course the outside cover illustration. If that wasn't right I never got to the other stuff! If it passed the test it usually had pages of drawings I could copy. It was my first from of self training and would continue until high school when I had an art teacher. on a regular basis. By the time I graduated, the principal had to send a letter to all the teachers forbidding them to take me out of non-art classes to work on art projects.

Deeply disappointed when I could not find employment to match my university training, I embarked upon producing fifty paintings of landmark architectural subjects in my home town out of sheer boredom with no idea where this would lead. My budget allowed simple but durable pen and ink to execute them. My studio was in the middle of my bed in the lotus position with a rough unsanded plank from knee to knee. I drove to the different landmarks in my 'beetle' until one day it caught fire with me in it on the way to one. Until then I had averaged 13 per week. After this, my father supplied a phone number of 'someone who might be interested in my small accumulation and this lead to an invitation 'to bring a few of them in to the office'.

In borrowed wheels, dressed in my best 'staying alive' polyester jumpsuit on a now immortalized bad hair day, I ended up with a full page spread which introduced my work to an endearing public most people would associate with Jeff Foxworthy tributes. My pathetic plight somehow struck a chord with a resilient underdog and after this I got matting for my fifty works (until I could pay for them), approval for a solo exhibition, more commission requests than I could keep up with, in an array of content and media, for both private and corporate patrons, booked a national traveling show and opened a frame shop and gallery, featured in books and media and landed in New York City and eventually in Europe.

Over time I became a 'generalist'--able to work in several media and comfortable with any subject. When I became a member of the Portrait Society of America I learned this was an attractive prerequisite to specialize in portraiture, because there are so many variables besides human or figurative elements that are individually considered with each assignment. As it turns out, applying for jobs during a recession forced me down a path with many wonderful experiences. In recent years I have the opportunity to broaden this experience with further training at some some top academies in Europe. I feel very fortunate to be able to carry out a profession that allows me to have a high level of satisfaction and fulfillment.

. To commission a work or find out about her next exhibition, please forward any questions via the 'Contact us ' button, visit the 'Events' page or opt into our 'Invitation List" to receive quarterly news and invitations sent to your favorite online address. Her complete CV is available by request.