What are your motivations for creating?

Since I became sick I had to give up doing many of the physical things I had previously done, and I felt a great loss. Then I noticed a shift from being more left brained and task oriented to feeling more right brained and process oriented. I began to see everything through a different lens, and found myself approaching tasks differently. An enormous craving to create began nagging at me, and I had to listen. Now there is this urge inside me that gradually builds and then sweeps over me. Oil painting is therapeutic for me. It is a time when I am pain free, and I don’t feel sick. Time is non-existent and I almost feel like I am not present. This process can occur many times during the creation of one piece, and each time, when the feeling subsides I have created something beautiful, which did not exist before. Looking at other artists’ work in any medium leads me to a state of creativity. I visit the Georgia O’Keeffe Gallery regularly, and I enjoy looking at the work of Imogen Cunningham as well. Since I really enjoy painting macro flowers I am always motivated by nature; either through outdoor experiences or through photographs. There is also a sense of accomplishment in the creation of a piece of art for a specific person. When I am able to get to know someone, see their home, and discuss with them what they are looking for in a piece of art for a specific space, I am highly motivated to create.

What do you find stimulating right now? How does this influence your creative process?

Music is very stimulating to me. I enjoy many types of music, and no matter what I am listening to it taps into my emotions more than anything else. I always listen to something when I am painting, and my choice depends on my mood at the time. It behaves as a sort of transport vehicle on which I am able to quickly depart from a world where there is a means to an end, and instead I find myself almost bodiless in a place where the process of creation is all that exists.

How do you know when a piece you're working on is done?

Knowing when a piece is finished can be challenging sometimes. I may think I am done, but I will notice things I want to change or improve as the painting sits and the oil dries. Sometimes this can be hazardous, because a change doesn’t always mean improvement. I have learned how to pay closer attention to feedback from my body and from the paint, which tell me when it is time to end a session of painting. If I force it beyond that point the oil paint becomes less compliant and I feel like I am fighting against it. It is a practice of mine to sign my work when I know it is finished, and I will never make changes to a piece once it has been signed.

What are some of your artistic goals for the future?

My short term artistic goals are to continue to try to create every day, to continue to develop my own style, to expand on my exposure locally by entering my work in a few large scale regional shows in 2010, to have a solo show in 2010, to continue to create a network of art related resources, continue to meet other artists from whom I can learn, and to stretch my abilities by continuing to paint on various surfaces. My long term goals include entry into 4-6 shows nationally per year, attending some art workshops, enrolling in private training with an established artist or two, and to continue to grow my art business with a focus on charitable contributions from my art sales.

What would you like your fellow EBSQ artists and our collectors to know about you and/or your work?

Story is always important to me, and I believe that art is interpreted at a deeper level when the viewer is aware of the artist’s story. The pieces I create come from a very special place of healing. This art I am able to create right now is certainly a gift that would not exist without the losses which came before it. My story is that four years ago a diagnosis of CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) and Fibromyalgia forced me to leave a professional career, put many of my athletic endeavors aside, scale back on socializing, and focus on just being, rather than doing. At the time, my son-in-law was an oil painter, and I told him I had always wanted to try painting. He said, “Just paint”. So I tried, and I never looked back. Later that year he committed suicide, and I inherited his entire collection of art supplies. Since then I paint for him, and he is always with me when I paint.

Additionally, working with others can broaden the scope of any endeavor. I enjoy collaborating with other artists for the purpose of sharing ideas, knowledge, experience and inspiration.