I grew up in the Yaak river valley in northwestern Montana and didn’t have electricity until I was in high school. I’ve always been creative, so was in no way bothered by this. By the age of 8, I had concluded that I’d rather be an artist than a mermaid, as my hair didn’t seem to be growing long enough anyways.
In high school and college, I single handedly painted several large murals, which helped me get comfortable doing large work. I also designed and made the majority of my clothing, sometimes knitting through my easier classes.
I majored in Art at UC Santa Cruz, doing a semester abroad in the South of France, where I was offered an art scholarship to the Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing in Aix-en-Provence. I loved the structured instruction, life drawing, and cultural experience. I also relished being immersed in the land of the impressionists. I saw inspiration for paintings on every corner, while also making lifelong friendships that felt like family.
Upon returning to the states, I began doing art shows in my early 20s and have been fully supporting myself as an artist ever since. I continued to travel extensively, living in places as varied as the California foothills, England, Italy, and the Bay Area. I bought my first home in Montana with the proceeds of my hand painted silks. However, upon marrying, I found I needed to up the ante and switched back to oils. Currently I reside just outside of Sandpoint, Idaho, where we built a home, studio, and massive garden. I support the family with my art.
At this point in my life, I have participated in nearly all of the top rated art festivals in the country. I have my art in many private collections, some celebrity homes, and a few corporate headquarters. I am so pleased to be able to bring joy and beauty to people’s lives, and to create things that will continue to exist after I am gone.
I believe that art is essentially a language, a way of expressing one’s view of the world to others. As with learning a language, it takes a great deal of time and effort to become truly fluent, and there’s always more to learn. However, once fluency is achieved, I only need to think about what I want to say, not how to say it — and there’s always so much beauty in the world to talk about!