Welcome

I am a part-time artist and a full-time executive assistant.  Painting at night and on the weekends, I try to get as much easel time in as possible.  Keeping the creative juices flowing while sitting at a corporate job all day can be a challenge. 

I found my love of drawing around the age of 12 and that eventually led me to painting and experimenting in as many other mediums as I could get my hands on.  I am always evolving and learning - trying to become the best artist I can be.  While I have always been art focused in my college courses, it wasn't until I started taking local artist's workshops that I truly started to see an improvement in my skills.  Getting my hands dirty is where I really started to grow as an artist. 

In my personal life, my biggest accomplishment is my amazing son, Bryce (25 years old) and my sweet Cavalier King Charles girls, Charli (11 years  old) and Ellie (6 years old).  And yes, if I could have given birth to those little fur balls I would have.  They fill my heart with pure love. 

I grew up in a small town just outside of Fort Worth, Texas, and still reside in the DFW area today.  While I am a Texas girl through and through, I have a deep love for all things New England.  

That is my happy place and I go there as much as possible.   

I often dream about a cute little painting studio on the North East coast overlooking the sea.  Absolute heaven in my mind!   

I just want to paint and be creative and what better a place than this? One day I know this dream will become my reality.

I am determined!   

 How can any artist love only one medium? I think I speak for all artists and creative types when I say, the art supply store is our candy store. 

The mediums I work with most are oil paints and soft pastels. On occasion, I will still break out my sketching tools and just take it back to basics with a good pencil drawing. You can get so much detail with a good pencil on nice paper.

That love of drawing is why I believe soft pastels might be my favorite medium these days. They are beautiful in color, and they make me feel like I am drawing versus painting. An added bonus, they are always ready to go when I’m ready to paint with very little prep time or clean up. Sometimes I just want to jump right into a painting when that spark of creativity hits me without having to mix and prep oil paints. I call it instant gratification. On the other hand, an oil painting is a slower, more work-intensive process - and sometimes that is exactly what I need too. They are both beautiful mediums that I enjoy immensely. 

One of the mediums that I find challenging is watercolors. I desperately want to master those, and I will not give up until I do. Once I finally feel comfortable enough with my watercolor abilities, I will add a few of those pieces to my portfolio as well. Right now, watercolors are not my strong suit, but I refuse to let them win. 

So, for now, I will continue posting those oil and pastel paintings as much as possible. 

While I am still evolving and learning with all mediums, I am grateful to share these creations with everyone in hopes that somewhere along the way I will inspire someone else. 

Like most, my inspiration comes from so many people, places and things.  That is obvious if you look at my art subjects - I am all over the place with puppies, babies, seascapes, and landscapes. Really just anything that makes me happy also inspires me to paint. 

I have noticed that when I take an artist’s workshop or watch another artist paint online, I cannot help but be inspired and motivated! It renews my excitement and creativity more than anything else. 

It blows me away to see an artist touch their brush to a canvas with what looks like a random stroke of color and suddenly, they have exactly what was needed to create the figure or object. It will never get old watching that magic happen.