About Me

 

My Journey

Creating and making things has been part of my life as far back as I can remember.  My memories range from the time I was about five and I accidentally melted my older sisters crayons creating a marvellous wax abstract I remember to this day to making an abstract painting from an old card table top and orange paint to hang on an ugly apartment wall when I was twenty.

The intersections are numerous, but my earliest defining experience was when my father took me to see a Van Gogh exhibit when I was eight. I was enthralled and knew from that moment I wanted to be an artist.

I was able to formally start on my artist’s journey when I was in my twenties. I took numerous classes including drawing, watercolour painting and papier-mâché at The Winnipeg Art Gallery as well as other places. Indeed, I took classes whenever time permitted and painted when I could.

I fondly remember painting in ditches and fields with artist, Valerie Ryan, who later moved to Ottawa. Valerie was one of my first art teachers. She introduced me to landscape painting, which continues to be my preferred genre.

Even though I’ve pursued other challenges such as raising a family, studying classical piano and obtaining two university degrees I’ve always come back to painting.

I like the magic of painting, of looking for the underlying dynamics in situations and the discernible patterns they form to create a new way of seeing and understanding.

I like the physicality of painting, the feel of the brushes loaded with colour and the movement required to create the painting.

I like mystery, the contradiction of wanting to pull back the layers yet wanting to contemplate the possibilities. There is a certain excitement in not knowing, in leaving room to imagine. For me, the world is filled with mysteries and painting is my way of understanding mystery and creating it myself.

And I simply love colours, rhythms, movement and how it interweaves with music to create paintings.

I further realized my dream of being an artist when my husband and I purchased a cottage in the Canadian Shield in North-western Ontario near the Manitoba border. The landscape is rugged and wild, thus providing lots of opportunities for painting and photography.  I often paint en plein air when we are at the lake during the summer. 

More often I paint in my city studio where I love to experiment with materials and techniques. Recently I have begun painting the inner landscapes I experience in my daily life. I use various materials and paints on canvas and paper.

My Day

I love sipping my morning coffee and reading before I do anything else. In the summer at the lake I have my coffee on the deck and absorb nature, no reading. It is sublime.

I usually paint in the afternoon and keep my paints organized and ready so I can get into creative mode as soon as I go into my studio or grab my outdoor painting kit.

I always listen to music when I’m painting and often select songs to suit the mood I’m creating with paint. I’m a huge fan of electric blues and have an ever-evolving playlist, which I listen to when painting, but include some classical and current music that has caught my interest.

About My Website

This website is a selection of my paintings.  It is my on-line gallery. You can see a broader selection of my artwork on Instagram or Facebook.

While each painting I create is unique, it is also part of my on-going visual inquiry into the inner and outer landscapes I experience every day.  Please look around my website and get back to me with any questions.

Paintings posted on the website are available for purchase. Please give me phone call or text 1(204) 612-9639 or email me.

Please don't hesitate to contact me. I enjoy hearing from people who like my art.